DILLIAN Whyte has revealed that he was offered fights with Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker, but instead opted to take on heavyweight wonderkid Moses Itauma.
The 37-year-old trudged to a seventh-round stoppage victory against Ebenezer Tetteh last December, his uninspiring performance casting an element of doubt over his world-level credentials.
Yet despite that, the former world title challenger has nonetheless landed himself a lucrative, and indeed risky, opportunity against explosive prospect Itauma.
The pair will square off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on August 16, headlining an appealing card delivered by boxing paymaster Turki Alalshikh.
But while having agreed to face Itauma, a dynamic and ferocious talent, Whyte, 31-3 (21 KOs), has equally insisted that two more options were placed on the table.
One of which, he says, happened to be a potential rematch with Joshua, 28-4 (25 KOs), who has not fought since his devastating fifth-round stoppage defeat to Daniel Dubois in September.
Since then, the career of ‘AJ’ has become somewhat nebulous, as an opponent for his next outing – slated to take place later this year – is yet to emerge.
As for Whyte, another possible rematch, this one in the form of a clash with Parker, had been put to him before the Itauma fight was ultimately secured.
‘The Body Snatcher,’ however, claims that the New Zealander, who is the leading contender for heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk, priced himself out of the matchup.
As a result, Whyte was left to consider his options, before finally coming to the conclusion that Itauma, who has largely been avoided, it seems, was perhaps his safest bet.
“I got offered three names: AJ, Parker and Moses Itauma,” Whyte told Sky Sports.
“These guys were messing about. Parker was being greedy – they didn’t want to be realistic on the split. AJ wasn’t ready – obviously they’re trying to keep their options open – [but] I’m options for no one.
“I think Moses Itauma, no one wants to fight him. I’ve always taken the fights that no one wanted to take, and nothing’s changed now.
“Everyone’s scared of him, all these other supposed hard man heavyweights who pride themselves on being hard fighting anyone, they’re running scared from fighting this guy.”
