Boxing
Nick Parkinson 6y

Dillian Whyte: I need to control my anger against Joseph Parker

Boxing

Dillian Whyte says he needs to control his anger and not turn into the Incredible Hulk when he boxes Joseph Parker on Saturday.

The Jamaica-born heavyweight, who has lived in south London since childhood, must beat Parker, (24-1, 18 KOs), 26, from New Zealand, to secure his place as front of the queue for a shot at the world heavyweight titleholders Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.

Whyte (23-1, 17 KOs), 30, has compared himself to the Marvel Comics superhero character Hulk, whose alter ego is Dr Robert Bruce Banner, and is aiming for another knockout win after decisively dispatching Lucas Browne, of Australia, in March.

"He's motivated, he knows beating me gets him close to another shot at AJ, so that's what makes him dangerous," Whyte said.

"I'm like Bruce Banner, I'm always angry, but it's just whether I let it consume me or not. I have the skills and capability to do what AJ couldn't and to KO him.

"I'm hungry and when I fight I want to hurt these men. I want guys to go home after losing to me and thinking be thinking about me in September after I've beat you up in July. I'll be all over him, hitting him everywhere and often. He's going to hate that.

"I've seen everything he's going to bring and I will take everything he's got and strategically break him down and chop him to bits."

Whyte has won seven successive fights since Joshua stopped him in seven rounds in December 2015, five months before Joshua became world champion.

Known as The Body Snatcher, Whyte turned down the chance of fighting Kubrat Pulev in Bulgaria in an eliminator for the IBF title.

But Whyte's promoter says the winner of Saturday's fight is an option for WBA-IBF-WBO world heavyweight champion Joshua at Wembley Stadium on April 13.

Joshua fights Russia's Alexander Povetkin on September 22 and is also in talks to face American Deontay Wilder, the WBC champion, on April 13.

"People are screwing me around, they don't want to fight me," Whyte said.

"Pulev's people can't find the money, Wilder is talking rubbish. I am in the business to make good money and to fight. I'm not going to sit there and wait and go stale, I want to fight.

"I'm not waiting around for my chance because that might mean a year on the sidelines. We're making moves and staying busy.

"Pulev has been unreliable in previous fights and wanted me to wait until September, but that doesn't work for me. I want this fight and a fight in October.

"Eddie is working out the strategy and I will fight whoever my team put in front of me. He put a few big options in front of me and this is the one that has come off.

"It's a good fight, he's never been down, he's only lost once against AJ, but I can knock anyone out. If he comes to run then it might be hard, but if he comes to fight he goes to sleep. He may look to just go 12 rounds again and play it safe, we'll see."

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