Joshua and Whyte looked set to collide again on 12 August (Picture: Getty)
Dillian Whyte claims a one-way rematch clause is delaying an agreement for his proposed summer showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Eddie Hearn last week suggested Whyte had priced himself out of a proposed meeting with ‘AJ’ in August but talks were revived on Friday when the Brixton heavyweight indicated he was ready to accept their initial offer.
Joshua and Whyte shared a blistering rivalry in 2015 which saw the Olympian knock out his rival in the seventh round of their bad tempered contest.
While a second fight looked a step closer to being agreed, Whyte now insists contractual issues are holding things up.
Whyte believes victory over Joshua this summer would thrust him into the picture for a lucrative clash with Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia at the end of the year – a fight Joshua’s team have been negotiating since April.
But a latest contract offer sent to ‘The Body Snatcher’ includes a rematch clause that can only be activated by Joshua. Were Joshua to lose and activate that clause, it would likely scupper Whyte’s ambitions to throw himself into the Saudi mix.
Whyte prefers a scenario where he and Joshua meet again with the winner, not tied to any rematch obligations, going onto fight Wilder.
Joshua and Wilder are on collision course for December (Picture: Getty)
‘It’s like this, he [Eddie Hearn] said, “We’re gonna send a simple contract,” and then they sent a very complicated contract with a lot of hoops and a lot of hooks to hook me in,’ Whyte told talkSPORT.
‘I don’t want that, I just want a simple contract, simple fight, winner moves on and has a big fight in Saudi Arabia. This fight for me is about the opportunity, it’s not about the money, that’s why I’m taking the fight for the money they’ve offered me.
‘But now they’re trying to put a rematch clause in there that ties me up for a year and messes everything up, I’m not interested in that. I just want a straightforward fight, winner moves on, that’s it.’
Hearn has suggested there are other names in the frame to fight Joshua on that proposed date of August 12, with Whyte not impressed with the pressure tactics.
‘What I don’t like is Eddie’s out there talking nonsense, “Oh, we’ve got two other guys waiting to go.”
‘Mate, no-one cares, just shut up, no-one cares about who you’ve got ready to go. It’s a proper fight, let’s get the fight made, stop talking about all these backup plans.’
MORE : ‘It doesn’t seem real’ – Dillian Whyte issues worrying update on Anthony Joshua rematch
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Another twist leaves the fight in doubt again…