Dillian Whyte was initially pegged as the first opponent for Anthony Joshua in 2019.

Joshua picked up a stoppage victory over Whyte in a furious grudge match in December of 2015.

They were negotiating a rematch date for this past April - but the two boxers were unable to reach a financial agreement - with both going in different directions.

Whyte is back in action next month, when he faces undefeated Oscar Rivas at The O2 Arena in London.

And Joshua decided to schedule his United States debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Initially he was going to fight Jarrell Miller, who was pulled from the contest after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.

Andy Ruiz was brought in as a late replacement - and most believed he was a tremendous underdog without any possibility of winning the fight.

But the impossible happened, when Ruiz dropped Joshua four times before the contest was waved off in the seventh round.

Ruiz walked away with the WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA world heavyweight titles.

A rematch is now very likely for the fall, with the UK being the target location. 

After reviewing the fight, Whyte felt that his former foe appeared to be intimidated by Ruiz and had the appearance of a boxer who didn't really want to fight. Whyte wasn't sure if Joshua came to get a pair or mentally broke from the pressure.

“Joshua seemed scared and not bothered. He was throwing punches and running,” Whyte said.

“He was jabbing and retreating, fighting with his left hand down. When he got hurt, he didn’t know whether to hold or tie up.

“It just seemed like he wasn’t bothered – he didn’t want to be there. Maybe he couldn’t deal with the pressure.

“It was like he said ‘I’m here to collect my money’. He got the rent but left without the keys.”