‘I’ll step up’ – Dillian Whyte opens the door to Anthony Joshua sequel after Tyson Fury says mega showdown is off

Dillian Whyte has revealed that he’d be prepared to fight Anthony Joshua should his clash with Tyson Fury not happen.

AJ had agreed terms to face the Gypsy King at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on September 3, however a delay in signing a contract has put the fight in serious jeopardy.

Fury had set Joshua’s camp a deadline of 5pm on Monday to return the paperwork, but with no contracts returned he took to social media to declare that the fight was now off.

Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, has provided hope that a bout could still happen, but if the Gypsy King is true to his word then it means that Joshua will now be looking for a new opponent for his next fight, a position that Whyte is willing to step into.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Whyte said: “If the Fury fight doesn’t get made with Joshua then me and him can fight in December if he wants.

“He’s training for it, he’s ready for it, he’s willing to take Fury on so if that fight doesn’t get made I’ll step up and take the fight with Joshua. That would be a great fight.”

Asked if he thinks Fury against AJ can happen, Whyte said: “I think it can happen but Fury is putting a lot of pressure on, using social media which has been a bit silly really.

“These big fights take time because there’s a lot that goes into it. The team puts a lot into it, there’s a lot of commercial things and protecting your best interests and protecting your rights and obviously these guys are on two different TV stations so there’s a lot that goes into it.

“It’s not as simple as ‘sign the contract you big dosser’, that doesn’t work but a lot of people just listen to what Fury says.

“Big fights take time and they’ve got to get them right otherwise it can all fall over if things aren’t done properly.”

If the Fury vs Joshua fight was to fall through and Whyte steps in then it would be the second time the ‘Body Snatcher’ faced Joshua.

The pair locked horns in December 2015 with Joshua winning the clash by technical knockout in the seventh round.

Whyte got his long overdue world title shot against WBC heavyweight champion Fury in April with the latter winning by TKO in the sixth round.