By Keith Idec
Lucas Browne cannot wait for his chance to silence Dillian Whyte on Saturday night.
The unbeaten Australian heavyweight wants nothing more than to knock out Whyte when they meet in a scheduled 12-round main event at London’s O2 Arena. Browne has long disliked Whyte and feels he has received entirely too much attention for a boxer Browne believes isn’t all that good.
“He’s got a big mouth,” Browne said during a workout Tuesday in London. “A lot of things he’s said on social media are just stupid and wrong. It’s a cry for attention. He knows he’s not the best boxer, so he has to get noticed somehow and he does it by making noise. He’s famous for getting KO’d by Anthony Joshua – that’s it. I think he’s an idiot and I don’t like him, but I’ve always wanted to fight him.”
The Jamaican-born, London-based Whyte (22-1, 16 KOs) suffered his only loss to Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs), the British superstar who stopped Whyte in the seventh round of their December 2015 fight at O2 Arena. Whyte hopes to eventually earn another shot at Joshua, who has since has won the IBF, IBO and WBA heavyweight titles.
First, however, the 29-year-old contender, who’s ranked No. 1 by the WBC, will have to get by Browne (25-0, 22 KOs).
“He has had his ups and downs outside the ring,” Whyte said. “He’s a controversial guy both in actions and words. But all that aside, it’s a really good fight. He’s 6 feet, 5 inches, a big puncher, [22] KOs from 25 wins, so it’s dangerous. But that’s the sort of fights I want. I like to get in there and have it.”
The 38-year-old Browne dismissed Whyte as all talk and promised he’ll deliver a punishing performance.
“I am exactly who I am on camera as I am in person,” Browne said. “I’m not sure if Dillian is one of those people that if you put a camera in front of him, he turns into a d*ckhead, or if he’s a d*ckhead full-time.”
Whyte-Browne will air as the main event of Sky Sports’ four-fight broadcast Saturday night in the United Kingdom (7 p.m. GMT). HBO will televise it live in the United States, beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
