Dillian Whyte would prefer to avoid discussing sparring.
At this point, the brash British heavyweight feels as though Tyson Fury has left him little choice. Fury’s version of how their sparring sessions went have annoyed Whyte, who is the mandatory challenger for Fury’s WBC title.
“Well, me and Tyson Fury sparred, and I bashed him about and I dropped him on multiple occasions,” Whyte told Sky Sports in an interview that aired Friday. “It’s as simple as that. You know, he wants to sit around, talking this and saying that. But if I’m such an easy fight, why is he not in any rush to fight me? He said before beating Wilder, ‘When I beat Wilder, I’m gonna give Dillian Whyte his title shot after beating Wilder.’ He just talks rubbish. I’m just sick and tired.”
London’s Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) has been the WBC’s number one contender for more than two years. Mauricio Sulaiman, the WBC’s president, determined Whyte only became that sanctioning organization’s mandatory challenger when he beat Colombia’s Oscar Rivas (26-1, 18 KOs) by unanimous decision July 20 at O2 Arena in London.
Nevertheless, Whyte wants his title shot as soon as possible. If he defeats former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KOs) in July, Whyte expects to face the winner of the third bout between England’s Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) and Alabama’s Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) in his following fight.
“Like I’ve said, credit to [Fury] on all the mental health stuff and all of that,” Whyte said. “You know, credit really due. He’s done a great job. He’s inspired a lot of people and stuff like that. But this here with boxing, I’m not gonna sit here and play the sympathy card. … He’s got the belt. I wanna fight him. So, I don’t care about all of that. This is war. Let’s go.”
The 32-year-old Whyte was reluctant initially to talk about what transpired during his sparring sessions against Fury, who stopped Wilder in the seventh round of their rematch February 22 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“Tyson Fury can tell you guys,” Whyte said. “I’m not one for going around, shouting sparring stories. But Tyson Fury can tell you guys what happened. But I’m not one that’s, ‘Oh, I’ve done this. I’ve done that. I’ve done this.’ Listen, you know, but he’s the one who come out and said he beat me up in the gym and stuff like that. I can tell you now, that didn’t happen. You know, that didn’t happen. You know, I don’t like telling sparring stories. But people in the grapevine know. People in the game know. They know about me.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.