Joshua ready to give Whyte another shot after beating Fury
Anthony Joshua insists any long-awaited Dillian Whyte rematch will end painfully for his old nemesis.
The London rivals clashed in 2009 as amateurs, with the Brixton Body Snatcher beating AJ in a barnstormer.
But Joshua went on to win the 2012 Olympics and stopped Whyte in round seven of their thrilling 2015 professional rematch, for the British title.
Josh went on to become unified heavyweight king but suffered a shuddering loss to Andy Ruiz Jr last July, while Whyte rebuilt and is on an 11-fight win-streak and long overdue a world title crack.
AJ, 30, did offer his 32-year-old rival a rematch in April 2019 but, it was a desperate short-notice deal after he failed to lure Deontay Wilder to Wembley.
Now, the Watford man has once again insisted he wants to settle the score with a rubber match against Whyte.
Joshua said: “I know he’s been chasing a world title shot. I offered him a world title shot last year in April, he refused it.
“Maybe he wants his hand on the WBC, but if me and Tyson Fury fight, then I know he didn’t want to fight me last year, but he’ll definitely have to fight me this time, if he wants his hands on the WBC belt.
“Once I’ve beaten Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte can come and get this work as well. It won’t be that good, it will be one-sided.”
Joshua is mandated to fight 38-year-old Bulgarian veteran Kubrat Pulev next, but their June 20 clash at Tottenham was floored by the COVID-19 lockdown.
After that formality, undisputed cruiserweight guvnor Oleksandr Usyk is waiting for his shot after stepping up a division.
But bullish Joshua is backing himself to tear through the revitalised division.
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AJ said: “Yeah, I think line them all up. You know what it is with me, you look through my resume, I take them all on.
“I will be a well-respected heavyweight in this division, knowing that I never ducked a challenge, but Usyk, Dillian Whyte, Fury, Deontay Wilder – they’re all on my hit list, for sure.
“Usyk’s a WBO mandatory challenger and, if Dillian didn’t step up, Fury didn’t step up, I would take on Usyk without a shadow of a doubt.”