Joseph Parker has had a turbulent relationship with Dillian Whyte over the years.
While they are on good terms now, New Zealand’s archetypal nice guy admits there have been times when he wanted to ‘smash Whyte’s face in’.
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Whyte and Parker haven’t always seen eye to eyeCredit: GettyJoseph Parker names the only opponent he ever disliked: ‘Wanted to smash his face in’
“The only opponent I didn’t like was Dillian Whyte,” Parker told talkSPORT.com.
“One moment we’re good and then we’re not. I’m not sure what is up with him; he is up and down.
“After his last fight [with Moses Itauma], I gave him a call and we had a chat.
“But sometimes he sends me a rude message, like I’d write ‘How are you?’ and he’d reply ‘f*** you’.
“So there have been a fair few times where I have disliked him and wanted to smash his face in.
“And then there are other times when I have thought he isn’t a bad guy.
“It’s up and down, but at the moment we are mates, I think.”
Their relationship reached boiling point in the build-up to their showdown at London’s O2 Arena in July 2018.
Parker took exception to some comments made by Whyte during a tense pre-fight ‘Gloves Are Off’ interview.
‘The Bodysnatcher’ branded the Kiwi a ‘coward’, and insisted he had ‘let his country down’ in defeat to Anthony Joshua four months prior.
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Whyte dropped Parker twice before being knocked down himselfCredit: GETTY
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Whyte was forced to go down in the last roundCredit: GETTY
Whyte’s words lit a fire under Parker, leading to a barnburning bout, which saw both men exchange three knockdowns between them.
In the 12th and final round, with 27 seconds left on the clock, Parker decked Whyte with a dynamite right hand.
When he regained his footing, Parker poured on the pressure like a man possessed.
But the Londoner held for dear life to hear the final bell.
It was a sound that came as a massive relief to the pro-Whyte crowd and proved enough for the Brit to get his hand raised.
In the end, the judges scored the fight 114-110, 115-110 and 113-112 in Whyte’s favour to seal a hard-fought unanimous decision victory.