Boxing news: Anthony Joshua RULES OUT facing Dillian Whyte next - ‘He had his opportunity'
ANTHONY JOSHUA will not face Dillian Whyte next as the Brixton boxer “had his opportunity”.
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Anthony Joshua defends his WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles against Andy Ruiz Jr next Saturday in his stateside debut.
The Madison Square Garden bout comes seven weeks after Joshua was supposed to be back in the ring.
His promoter Eddie Hearn had booked Wembley for April 13 and tried to find an opponent to no avail, with long-term adversary Whyte coming close to signing a deal but for disagreements over the rematch clause.
As a result, the spring date was scrapped and New York was anointed the next city to host AJ.
Whyte, meanwhile, is fighting top-10 contender Oscar Rivas in July, pursuing the route of becoming WBC mandatory to get a world title shot at Deontay Wilder.
But Wilder is also in Joshua’s sights, as the Englishman eyes an undisputed bout at the end of the year.
"I'm not looking at Dillian anymore, I'm looking at Wilder, because he's got the belt," Joshua told Sky Sports.
"Ruiz Jr? Provided I get past him - Wilder, that's my main objective. Simple as that.
“Dillian Whyte had his opportunity to fight me April 13. Dillian had a chance to fight for the titles.
“He felt it was a low-ball offer, he wants to build his value and compete against Rivas.”
Whyte has not yet earned a world title shot in his career despite recording nine straight wins since losing to Joshua in December 2015.
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The Body Snatcher is hoping his scrap with Rivas will be for the WBC interim title, which would make him mandatory to Wilder following some mistreatment by the governing body.
As for the Rivas encounter, Joshua opined: “It’s a tough fight, it's a very tough fight.
“But, providing Dillian comes through, it [accelerates] him onto the next stage of where he's trying to get to and that's becoming heavyweight champion of the world."