Monday 9 April 2018 06:49, UK
Dillian Whyte delivers his verdict on possible next opponents as he plots his path to a world heavyweight title fight.
'The Body Snatcher' is within touching distance of a fight against one of the world champions after he strengthened his place in the rankings with an explosive knockout of Lucas Browne at The O2 last month.
Whyte could set his sights on a title holder, a final eliminator, or a fellow contender as he considers his options when talking to Sky Sports...
Joshua is always No 1 on my list, simply because, we don't like each other. There is a lot of needle, but we have a lot of respect for each other also, and we just do something to each other that makes each other want to fight.
We have fought twice and both fights have been battles at two different levels, and two different stages of our careers. The third time is going to be another battle.
I would like to fight AJ another two, three times over my career. I think it's one of those fights where we always work hard, we'll always be motivated, we'll always want to beat each other up. We just have that chemistry.
Chicken legs is No 2. I've been chasing him for a while now. He calls me a peasant, but I can afford to pay more money [for him] to come over here, then him the champion can pay me to go to America. Who is the peasant, me or him?
He knows that I'm hot on his heels and I want to fight him. I've done everything I could [to get the fight]. I've had all the right fights, and I own three belts from the WBC. I'm basically WBC interim world champion. I would go to America. If Eddie [Hearn] came to me and said we've struck a deal, a good deal, here's the fight, go to America. I would go to America to fight him.
If Wilder doesn't fight Joshua, he has to fight me next. Hopefully the WBC will stand by me and back me, because I've been loyal to them, and enforce that rule. I'll have to go and find him and show up and say: 'I'm here, let's go.'
It's a very good fight, but they are talking about possibly going to Bulgaria to fight. What for? The profile, the money, the revenue, everything is in England, so why would go and fight him in Bulgaria? But it's a fight that I definitely want. It would secure me a place as mandatory challenger for the IBF. I believe I can beat Pulev all day long. At The O2, it's a big fight.
He's had some big fights, a top amateur, and at one stage he was meant to be a world beater. But for some reason something went wrong and he hasn't really fulfilled his potential as a professional. I believe I have the beating of him. He is open to left hooks as we have seen in most of his fights, and in his first loss to Wladimir Klitschko he got dominated by the left hook and that's one of my punches. I'm very confident of taking that fight and knocking him out.
I think I've done enough, but if Wilder is going to carry on being a coward, then I'll fight on. It's an explosive fight, but I've got myself in a good position now. I want to fight for the world title. But if it doesn't happen and Breazeale wants it, and it makes sense, then we'll have it. You know me, I never shy away from a fight, and I'll fight anyone.
I think Dominic Breazeale is a more dangerous fight than Deontay Wilder, to be honest. He's a tough guy, he can take a dig, and he comes forward to fight. He's actually got better boxing skills than what Deontay Wilder does. Deontay Wilder just has a bit more power than him. It's a fight that is very attractive stylistically for me. Dominic Breazeale would have to come to The O2. He's better off fighting here, it would be much bigger.
David Price could have stopped him and should have stopped him. But you know David Price, one of his main problems is confidence, and that's what let him down I believe. It was a devastating knockout, he landed the right punches, but I think he was pretty basic and open. He looked old and he was tired and gassing. I didn't think he looked that good, but got the knockout.
We want Povetkin obviously. That's who we want. I feel after that fight with David Price as British fighters, we need to redeem ourselves. David Price showed a lot of holes in his game and I believe that I can knock him out.
He's a good fighter, a former Olympic gold medallist, a former world champion. He's only lost to Wladimir Klitschko, so that's a very, very attractive fight. A very, very good fight. That fight will get the public's juices flowing and get everyone going crazy.
If Haye gets past Bellew, he can come and see me. I don't like either of them, but I have more respect for Tony Bellew than I do David Haye. Tony Bellew is a funny one, I've gained a lot of respect for him lately. Not because we are on the same promotional team, or anything like that.
I just dislike David Haye's attitude, his behaviour, and his approach to people. He always talks down to people, and always tries to steal the limelight. Any question you ask him, he tries to make it about himself. David Haye is just a punk. Not a lot of people in boxing like David Haye, because he's an ignorant, arrogant guy.
The donkey is loyal to the carrot. I chucked him a carrot on the undercard and he was loyal to me.
If Eddie gives me a big enough carrot to give the donkey, then we'll see.