ANTHONY JOSHUA is willing to throw down with long-time rival Dillian Whyte in his comeback fight in a bid to breathe new life into his career.
The Watford warrior will look to put himself back into world title contention early next year following a second consecutive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in August.
Whyte is one of several names in the running to face the former two-time unified heavyweight champion, who welcomes the prospect of another domestic dust-up with the Brixton Body Snatcher.
He told DAZN: “Yeah I’ll fight Otto [Wallin]. Yeah, I’ll fight Dillian. I’ll fight [Filip] Hrgovic.”
Joshua, 33, has no interest in taking a gimme fight for his comeback bout, saying: “I like fighting good opponents.
“And as much as it’s becoming a champion, I always felt like it was important for me to fight the best in my era.
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“Because there was this whole stigma about cherry picking.
“Boxing, if you want to get to get to the top, you have to take risks.
“Calculated risks, but you definitely have to take risks. And I just like taking risks.
“It’s not how popular a fighter you are that makes you a good fighter, it’s how good a fighter you are that will make you popular.
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“So competing with the best and training for the best has always helped me elevate my game. So yeah, would I fight Wallin? [Yeah].
“As I said, they may not be the most popular guys on social media, but they’re solid fighters.
“I’m not gonna sit here and I’m not gonna tell you, ‘Nah they’re rubbish.’
“I’m gonna give them the credit they deserve and I’ll never underestimate anyone I step in the ring with.
“That’s how we have to think. Everyone is a solid competitor.
“And that’ll make me raise my game.”
Joshua and Whyte are no strangers to one another having fought in the amateurs and once in the pro ranks.
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Whyte claimed victory in their amateur dust-up in 2009, although Joshua exacted his revenge six years later with a brutal seventh-round KO.
Whyte is also looking to get back in the win column following a vicious sixth-round KO defeat to WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in April.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
