Anthony Joshua ‘happy’ for ‘enemy’ Dillian Whyte as Tyson Fury fight nears

‘AJ’s demands reportedly meant a step-aside deal could not be struck to allow Fury to face Usyk

Anthony Joshua has said he is “low-key happy” for his old rival Dillian Whyte for securing a title fight with Tyson Fury.

Whyte is set to challenge fellow Briton Fury for the WBC heavyweight belt, likely in April, as Joshua gears up for a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua, 32, dropped the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles to Usyk in September, when he was outpointed by the undefeated Ukrainian in north London. One month later, Fury stopped Deontay Wilder for the second time in a row in the rivals’ trilogy bout.

Prior to those match-ups, Joshua looked set to take on Fury in an all-British unification bout, but his defeat by Usyk left the Ukrainian better positioned to unify the belts with the “Gypsy King”.

However, “AJ”’s demands over a step-aside deal reportedly ended the chances of Fury vs Usyk materialising this spring, with Fury now due to defend against interim champion and mandatory challenger Whyte.

“Even though Dillian Whyte is an enemy of mine, I’m low-key happy for him,” said Joshua – who has triggered a rematch clause to face Usyk again – via talkSPORT.

Joshua knocked out Whyte in December 2015, six years after suffering an amateur defeat by the “Bodysnatcher”.

Whyte’s last bout came in March last year, when he finished Alexander Povetkin to avenge his own stoppage loss to the Russian from August 2020.