Dillian Whyte is prepared to run it back with Anthony Joshua.
Sky Sports has reported that the former title challenger has signed and returned the latest agreement for a planned August 12 rematch at The O2 in London. The development comes days after promoter Eddie Hearn removed a unilateral rematch clause favoring Joshua which previously discouraged Joshua from moving forward with the bout.
Matchroom Boxing representatives did not immediately respond to an inquiry from BoxingScene.com seeking comment or confirmation.
Should the fight get finalized, it will come nearly eight years after their first meeting which was also held at The O2. Joshua (25-3, 22KOs) won via seventh-round knockout when both were unbeaten rising heavyweights. Watford’s Joshua—a 2012 Olympic Gold medalist for Great Britain and rising contender at the time—won his first major title one fight later, a second-round knockout of unbeaten IBF heavyweight titlist Charles Martin in their April 2016 clash also at The O2.
Joshua (25-3, 22KOs) went on to make six successful defenses and emerge as the UK’s biggest draw before a June 2019 knockout defeat to Andy Ruiz. He regained the belts six months later but managed just one successful defense before back-to-back defeats to current unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua returned to the win column with a twelve-round decision over Jermaine Franklin in April, which was his first fight with Derrick James, the 2022 Trainer of the Year.
Whyte (29-3, 19KOs) also beat Franklin in his most recent start last November 26 at AO Arena Wembley in London. The 36-year-old Brixton-based heavyweight earned a majority decision victory to bounce back from a sixth-round knockout to countryman and unbeaten lineal/WBC heavyweight king Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24KOs) last April 23 in front of 94,000 at Wembley Stadium.
A summertime date is essential for Joshua’s next fight given his bigger plans. Waiting in the wings is a reported superfight versus fellow former heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42KOs). The two are reportedly due to collide later this December in Saudi Arabia, though both have targeted separate August fights before their head-on collision.
There have been several stumbling blocks to get a Joshua-Whyte rematch over the line, dating back to Matchroom’s plans in 2019 for then-unbeaten Joshua to defend his slew of heavyweight belts on the line. Whyte balked at the opportunity, insisting he’d rather enforce a mandatory title status, win the rematch and then dictate terms for a third fight.
That opportunity never came as Joshua instead agreed to face Jarell Miller before the undefeated Brooklyn native tested positive for several banned substances. Ruiz replaced Miller and the rest was history.
Joshua and Whyte have since traveled their separate ways before the most significant round of talks for a rematch resurfaced earlier this year.
Hearn admittedly grew irritated by the tactics employed by Whyte in recent weeks and sensed that Joshua would have to move on to another opponent.
“Whenever you start sending offers and emails, five minutes later the content of those emails are all over (the media), I worry about the intentions of some people,” Hearn previously stated. “With regards to the rematch clause, it’s standard procedure for someone of AJ’s magnitude as wide of an A-side, someone who has got a 50-60 million dollar fight in December and wants to take a risk in August for no reason at all. The rematch clause would be standard.
“That said, I spoke to AJ… who said, ‘I don’t need a rematch clause to fight Dillian Whyte.’ It’s completely taken out.
Dillian Whyte came back and said [he’s] not willing to do any promotion around the fight. We’ve gone back and said, ‘Here’s the standard promotion for Dalton Smith (who fights Saturday). The rematch clause is removed. Here’s the contract; sign it. When I sent that, fifteen minutes later it’s on Sky Sports. That gives me no hope that it’s real.”
Whyte has now done his part to make it real. A signature from Joshua and Hearn will finalize the fight which is expected to be immediately announced ahead of DAZN’s plans to reveal its full schedule for the rest of the year.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox