“I Wasn’t Living the Right Life”- Dillian Whyte Opens up on Anthony Joshua Loss

WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte spoke to BBC 5Live Sport via Twitter and reflected on a crucial moment. ‘The Body Snatcher’ took an introspective look back as he recalled his last professional defeat inside the ropes of the ring. Whyte suffered a TKO defeat to multi-institute champion Anthony Joshua when the two met on December 12, 2015.

Since the aforementioned loss, Dillian Whyte has accrued 11 straight victories over impressive names. In that time, he earned his status as interim champion and is on the cusp of high-profile match-ups. Moreover, he has looked to be in phenomenal shape as he heads into a critical match-up against Alexander Povetkin.

Dillian Whyte takes a look back

“The personality was always there, you know. I just needed the opportunities, that’s what that fight was. It was a fight I almost won.”

Their first meeting saw a back-and-forth contest with both fighters landed heavy punches at different intervals. Dillian Whyte had AJ visibly stunned after weathering an early storm from his rival. Additionally, he found success with body shots and was possibly on his way to winning before he got rocked.

“I wasn’t living the right life, I wasn’t training properly. Was just training like a caveman, just wondering what to do. I was at home enjoying my life, living life with family and stuff like that. Just doing what I thought was best, which clearly wasn’t because I came up against someone who was elite, who has been looked after properly. They invested a lot into him and stuff like that was the difference.”

“I have the skills”

Chiefly, Whyte’s mindset into the fight seems clear and concise, as he has seemingly learned from his last loss. The bout showed several promising aspects of ‘The Body Snatcher’s’ game and has helped him grow. He continued to reflect an introspective state in conversation with BBC Radio.

“My punching alone wasn’t enough and raw strength and aggression wasn’t enough. So, that fight makes me realize what I needed to do. It made me realize I have the personality, I have the skills and everything else. Just need to find somewhere and put it in place properly.”

His scheduled bout against ‘The White Lion’ will be a good litmus test before he is tasked with facing the upper echelons at heavyweight. Chiefly, an upcoming unification bout against Tyson Fury seems on the horizon with a statement win.