Dillian Whyte open to rematch with Anthony Joshua, admits he still makes mistakes

Dillian Whyte may well have put himself in prime position for an April 2019 rematch with Anthony Joshua, but the 30-year-old “Body Snatcher” says he wants to get back into the ring before that, if it is to happen.

Whyte outpointed Joseph Parker in a rugged fight on Saturday, but went down in the 12th and final round and admitted he still makes mistakes he wants to correct.

“We’ll be ready but we would like one more before that, I might get out again in November or December. I don’t want to go into a fight waiting so long. I am still so inexperienced, I make a lot of mistakes. I’ve still got a lot to learn, let’s see what Eddie (Hearn) can throw my way. I’ve improved [since losing to Joshua], there’s still another 40 percent to come.”

... “I am annoyed I slipped at the final hurdle in the last round, but it’s a learning process. I was rocked and took a knee. When I got rocked by Joshua I just kept fighting. ... It’s a learning process, I’ve only had seven amateur fights and 25 professional fights, I am still learning.”

Whyte (24-1, 17 KO) lost to Joshua (21-0, 20 KO) back in 2015 in an entertaining fight where he did give Joshua some decent looks before getting stopped in the seventh round.

Since then, Joshua has won the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles, and is now set to face WBA mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (34-1, 24 KO) on September 22 at Wembley Stadium. He already has another date lined up at the venue for next April. Most are hoping that will be against WBC titleholder Deontay Wilder, but negotiations didn’t exactly go smoothly when they went through it this summer, so the opening could well be there for Whyte to get another shot at his rival.