Dillian Whyte believes he and Anthony Joshua are the modern-day Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
The 'Body Snatcher' will return to the ring tonight against Jermaine Franklin at Wembley Arena as he looks to put his defeat by Tyson Fury in April behind him. A win for Whyte will likely set him up with a huge opportunity to exact revenge against Joshua, whom he was stopped by in their bumper clash in 2015.
Much has changed since the pair last met, with Joshua having lost three times since, including his most recent back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk. And Whyte believes the pair share the same energy as legendary heavyweights Ali and Frazier during their heavyweight rivalry.
"We have changed a lot because we have been through a lot," Whyte told reporters while discussing his long-term rival Joshua. "We have grown a lot physically and mentally, and definitely we have improved technically since the first fight. I'm not going to sit here and say he has changed like this and changed like that, styles make fights.
"If me and him lace up gloves it is going to be a war regardless. Even if we lost our next ten fights it is going to be a war because we have the same energy that Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had. Of course I would love that fight, he is one of the people I have lost too. I have already avenged one and I want to avenge the other two."
Whyte's clash with Joshua was heated throughout, with a mass brawl breaking out during the fight after the pair landed shots after the bell. The 34-year-old has since been through a 1,000 day wait to receive his title shot, in which he failed to impress against dominant champion Fury.
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However wins over Franklin and in a potential rematch over Joshua could set up even further big fights in the future including against Deontay Wilder and Oleksandr Usyk. Whyte's promoter Eddie Hearn has suggested Whyte is currently the 'front runner' for the clash against Joshua next year.
And Whyte believes Joshua could be scared off from a potential clash if he produces a demolition of Franklin inside two rounds this weekend. He told iFL TV : “This is heavyweight boxing. I might beat Franklin, and the Joshua fight won’t be until six months off. I’m not going to wait around for that. Joshua might have an easier option for a comeback fight.
“I might knock Franklin out in the first two rounds, and Joshua might think, ‘I don’t fancy that. I might need a warm-up fight first.’ Not everyone has the same mindset. I’ll fight anyone. I put a risk every time. Anyone in the top 10. I want to fight the best guys, and that’s it. If it’s Joshua, it’s Joshua."
