Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte faced off for the first time ahead of their rematch next month.
The domestic rivals meet again on August 12 at The O2 arena, the same venue that hosted their first meeting eight years ago. Joshua and Whyte were both unbeaten in their professional careers at the time as ‘AJ’ captured the British heavyweight title by knocking out Whyte in the seventh round.
Joshua’s stoppage win avenged his loss to Whyte on the amateur circuit in 2009, meaning that August 12 will mark the third time the duo have fought each other across all levels. Joshua said: "I'm definitely up for fighting, there are a lot of names in the division but look what this creates this does great business.
"I don't look at Dillian as a rival, just another body, they have a lot of hate for. me. a lot of people hate on me so with Dillian, I worry about myself and stay in my lane. I know when the bell goes, it doesn't matter what I've said, what I've eaten or been through, it's about getting down and fighting to win, one way or another."
Whyte added: "Once the fight was mentioned... I'm always up for a fight so it doesn't take long to sell a fight to me, especially one like this. We've both been through a lot but we're both chasing improvements and think it's going to be a better fight than before, we're both more experienced and more skilled. We've had ups and
downs in fights, we've had three losses as well, so it'll be a good fight. We have a lot of hunger in us and I can't wait to get in there."
There are monumental implications for the rematch as Whyte can spoil Joshua's chance of securing a £60million payday against Deontay Wilder in December. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed the Wilder fight will be off the table if 'AJ' loses to Whyte, who hasn’t fought since a controversial win over Jermaine Franklin last November.
Who wins on August 12 - Anthony Joshua or Dillian Whyte? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below
Whyte was initially refusing to sign his side of the contract to face Joshua because of a rematch clause inserted into the deal, but it was then removed by Hearn as Joshua deemed the clause wasn't necessary. Whyte then met Hearn's deadline for the fight as it was officially announced last Thursday.
The rematch marks Joshua's second fight under new coach Derrick James as he partnered with the world-renowned trainer after his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk last August. James guided Joshua to his first win in over two years when the Brit beat Franklin in April, but the performance was largely unconvincing.
