Wednesday 13 January 2016 00:55, UK
Dillian Whyte is adamant Anthony Joshua's power is overrated after December's thrilling British heavyweight title clash.
The Londoners fought out a modern classic under the bright lights of The O2 with Whyte (16-1-KO13) eventually knocked out in the seventh round - but up until that point it had been far from the one-way traffic most had predicted.
After Joshua (15-0-KO15) piled on the pressure with flurry after flurry of power shots in a bid to record a first-round stoppage, punches thrown after the bell sparked a melee in the ring.
The second round was no less eventful, as Whyte threatened an incredible comeback with a sweetly-timed left that had the Olympic champion on unsteady legs for the first time in his professional career. Unfortunately for Whyte, his following barrage worsened a shoulder injury that has since required surgery.
I was surprised by how slow he is and how easy he is to hit. He's not as powerful as everybody says.
The Brixton fighter told Sky Sports: "If I was 100 or even 80 per cent fit and injury-free, I'm a million per cent sure that I'd have knocked him out in that second round or the round after.
"You can see in the second round that I took it off because my shoulder was so tight that I couldn't even jab. I was throwing silly rights without setting them up.
"My coach wanted me to stop in the fourth round because the injury was that bad but I told him that I'm a warrior. I wasn't going to sit on my stool and quit. I wanted to go out that way.
"I'm old school. I get injuries and I carry on and think it will be alright. It's a good mind-set in a way but I'm at the stage where I need to be more professional going into the big fights, because the injury changed the outcome out of the fight.
"He's not a one-punch knockout artist. I was more exhausted than anything else. I was surprised by how slow he is and how easy he is to hit. He's not as powerful as everybody says. I'm not making excuses but I was in pain and exhausted. I panicked and starting throwing those right hands.
"Those guys he fought before are chumps. I'm not a chump. That's all. Boxing's not about getting hit but I'm a tough, strong, determined, hard-working guy and I'm not going to lie down for nobody. He doesn't hit as hard as people make out."
Whyte was unimpressed even before the fight had begun, issuing a damning review of Stormzy, the London grime artist who welcomed Joshua to the ring with a song that began with the lyrics: 'Man trying to say he's better than AJ. Tell Madman shut up.'
Whyte, who entered to a medley of the Jaws theme breaking out to AC/DC's 'Back in Black', said of Joshua's musical decisions: "It was stupid. You're an Olympic gold medallist. What sort of rubbish is that to come out to? You're supposed to be getting the British public behind you. What nonsense is that?
"You're not a street thug. Why are you going on like you're a street thug? Why is he trying to push this bad boy image by getting a south London punk to sing him out? It's stupid. He needs to sort himself out. I don't know what he's trying to do."
