Former boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua says his upcoming fight with Dillian Whyte is “good business” and that he did not want to wait around for a clash with Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury.
Joshua will take on his fellow Brit at the 02 Arena on August 12, looking to make it back-to-back wins after beating Jermaine Franklin earlier this year.
The 33-year-old lost his heavyweight titles to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 before losing the subsequent rematch a year later, and will look to continue to rebuild his career with a victory over Whyte next month.
And ahead of the bout, Joshua said fighting Whyte made good business sense, adding that he did not want to wait for “time wasters” Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder – who many boxing fans had hoped he would fight.
“There’s a lot of names in the division for sure, but at the same time look at what this creates,” he said.
“I’m a fighter, but I understand the economics of business as well, and this does good business.
“Forget Wilder and them lot, them lot have been doing my head in for so many years. You lot have seen the shenanigans in the heavyweight division. I’ll be real, even with Fury.
“I don’t really waste my time with time wasters. It’s only a fight, I just want to fight and get on with it.
“I’ll be 34 this year, I’m moving on. I’m getting old now, so just crack on while I’m here. I’m not really wasting my time waiting for people, chasing people.
“From the day I started fighting, even from the amateurs, you can see the trajectory I’ve been on. Ready to get down, ready to put my neck on the line and fight whoever. And it’s still like that.
“Dillian is a very credible, solid opponent.”
Joshua and Whyte fought each other in 2015, with Joshua coming out on top via a stoppage.
Like AJ, Whyte also beat Jermaine Franklin in his last fight and says his motivation before he retires is to avenge his career defeats against Joshua and Fury.
“I’ve had three losses, I’ve avenged one and I want to avenge the other two,” he said.
