Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz fired off some verbal shots in the direction of division rival Dillian Whyte, who suffered a brutal knockout on Saturday night.

Whyte, who was the mandatory challenger to the WBC title, was knocked out cold in the fifth round of his bout with Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night at Matchroom's Fight Camp in Brentwood.

Povetkin, nearly 41-years-old, was down twice in the fourth and appeared to be on the verge of getting knocked out - when he landed a huge uppercut to knock Whyte out in the fifth.

Earlier this year, Whyte was aggressively pushing to get a fight with Ruiz, who had little interest in the bout.

They were featured on the same card in December, in Saudi Arabia. Whyte won a tough decision over Mariusz Wach on the undercard, while Ruiz lost a twelve round decision in his rematch with Anthony Joshua in the main event.

After Ruiz rejected Whyte's advances, the British fighter took several opportunities to ridicule Ruiz about his weight and his skills.

After Whyte's dramatic defeat, Ruiz took the opportunity to land a few digs of his own.

"I was so happy that Whyte f--king got his ass knocked the f--k out," Ruiz said.

"You know why? Because he doesn't have respect for the fighters, that's what gets me pissed off."

With the defeat, Whyte lost his mandatory shot at WBC world champion Tyson Fury.

Whyte plans to exercise an immediate rematch clause, with his sole target being a rematch with Povetkin in the fall - possibly on a date in December.