While Anthony Joshua remains locked in talks for a return to the ring, he and Tyson Fury have both been offered the chance to rematch a common foe in their comebacks.
Linked heavily in recent days to a lucrative fight with Jake Paul, Joshua has been sidelined since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois last year.
As for Morecambe native Fury, the ex-WBC heavyweight champion has flip-flopped on his retirement recently. And is one of the numerous critics of Joshua’s potential fight with Paul.
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But with their own prospective fight continuing to hit the skids, both Joshua and Fury have been offered a return to the ring by a familiar rival.
Dillian Whyte welcomes Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua rematches
Facing a sizeable task in his return to the ring this weekend, Dillian Whyte will take on the unbeaten uber-prospect Moses Itauma in a high-stakes pairing in Riyadh.
And approaching the tail-end of his career, Whyte has avenged just one of his three knockout losses — finishing Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin four years ago to reclaim the interim WBC heavyweight crown.
And with one former foe checked off his list, Whyte has welcomed the chance to take on former world champions Fury and Joshua in respective rematches.
“I’d love to get a chance to avenge my three defeats,” Whyte told assembled media, including the Sporting News, this week. “And I’d love the chance to fight for the world title again.”
Fighting the above-mentioned Fury a year after his rematch win over Povetkin, Whyte would drop a fifth-round knockout loss to his compatriot.
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And early in Joshua’s career, he would win his first WBC International, Commonwealth and British crowns in a seventh-round KO win over Whyte.
However, one of these potential rematches has an interesting added twist.
Dillian Whyte’s amateur win over Anthony Joshua
Rekindling their rivalry in the ring back in 2015, Whyte and Joshua were already familiar foes of each other at that stage of their pro careers.
Making his amateur boxing debut six years prior to their rematch, Whyte would fight Watford puncher Joshua over three rounds, landing a unanimous decision win over the Olympic gold medal winner.
And while Joshua seems preoccupied by both Paul and a potential Wembley showdown with Andre Ward, a rubber match of sorts against Whyte may entice the former two-time heavyweight champion to return to the ring.