Dillian Whyte has branded Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua as “jokers” following that recent ‘chance’ meeting in Marbella.
The two British world heavyweight champions – who have a financial agreement in place for a two-fight deal – were captured on camera bumping into each other in the Spanish resort a couple of weeks ago, leading yet again to a frenzy of publicity about their much-hoped-for showdown inside the ropes.
But Whyte – who as the mandatory contender for Fury’s World Boxing Council (WBC) title could yet scupper the Fury vs Joshua dream – was massively unimpressed by the whole thing.
He told Sky Sports: “That looked so staged. Those two just met at the right time and the right place, and they were just having a casual chat? The way they speak on social media – they want to do this to each other. It looks like it was just staged.
“I was just laughing. I was thinking to myself, ‘look at these two jokers.’ If I see someone and they’re talking smack about me and saying they are going to do this and do that, then when I see you, have the same energy. I’m not going to be standing outside your car window, standing on the sidewalk speaking to you. Come on man.”
While Fury and Joshua chat by the beach, Whyte himself has far more pressing matters to attend to as he puts that WBC interim champion status on the line against dangerous Russian Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1) at Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Fight Camp on Saturday August 22.
Quarantine regulations and the need for both fighters to stay together “in the bubble” could make things awkward ahead of the pay-per-view bout, which will be aired on Sky Sports Box Office.
Whyte admitted: “It’s not ideal when you have to stay in the same place as your opponent, especially if we’ve got to be in there for two weeks or whatever it is. It’s not ideal really, because you don’t want to be around somebody you’re going to be fighting, for so long.
“A day or two, or whatever. Bumping into him here and there is different from being next to someone. You’re thinking, ‘In a couple of days, we’re going to be smashing each other to bits’.'”
