Dillian Whyte has rejected an offer to fight Anthony Joshua after deeming his pay packet “unacceptable”, Eddie Hearn has revealed.
An August rematch between the pair, almost eight years after their showdown for the British heavyweight title, has been mooted as Joshua prepares for a showdown with Deontay Wilder at the end of the year.
But promoter Hearn has confirmed that he will likely have to look elsewhere for an opponent depsite Joshua wanting to face Whyte once more.
“So we spoke last night to his team and this morning,” Hearn told iFL TV. “We made an offer, and they felt that offer was unacceptable.
“We may be too far out on the money to make that fight. We’re looking at two other opponents for August 12. The key for us, if we can’t make the Deontay Wilder fight is that it doesn’t have to be Dillian. AJ wants it, that’s the fight AJ wanted.”
Tyson Fury offered to fight Joshua in a surprise public statement last month and Hearn has said he will consider that as an option if he cannot book in a match-up with Wilder, which is likely to take place in Saudi Arabia in December.
“If we’ve got the Wilder fight done, we can fight someone else from the top 15 on August 12,” he said.
“We still want a decent, proper fight to prepare for Deontay Wilder. But if we can’t get the Wilder fight done, then we need a much bigger fight on August 12, or we look at Tyson Fury in September.”
One fighter keen to take to the ring against Joshua is Derek Chisora, who has claimed that he has earned the chance to step in if Whyte cannot agree a deal with AJ’s camp.
He told Boxing King Media: “If Dillian don’t take it, Eddie, give it to me.
“I’ll be out in August. In August 12th, I’ll be out.”
