Dillian Whyte has given a scathing assessment of Anthony Joshua’s upcoming clash with Jermaine Franklin.
Joshua watched on from ringside as Whyte edged past Franklin by majority decision in November.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said in the build-up that the winner would be in line to face Joshua.
Despite winning the fight, Whyte has missed out on a rematch with his rival, who stopped him in seven rounds in 2015, with Franklin getting the nod on Monday for an April 1 clash with the former two-time heavyweight world champion at the O2 Arena, live on DAZN.
The Brixton man feels ‘AJ’ is being protected following back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
“Everyone was told, all the boxing fans, the winner of me and Franklin fights AJ, so this is a f***ed up thing,” the 34-year-old told SunSport.
“I would have been better off losing the Franklin fight and getting the AJ fight!
“I know DAZN need content for their subscribers but why choose to fight a low-profile American coming off a loss instead of having a massive British tear-up?
“It’s no surprise to me that they have chosen April 1 for this battle of the fools.
“I faced Franklin, the most dangerous and undefeated version of him, and beat him.
“Eddie was promising him many millions to fight AJ if he beat me.
“It’s protecting AJ because they all know if he loses again he will probably jack it in and a lot of people will be left with limp d***s in their hands.”
‘The Body Snatcher’ is yet to have a date or opponent finalised for his next bout, although Hearn is eyeing a summer showdown between Joshua and Whyte should the former overcome Franklin.
ESPN’s Mike Coppinger reported that Matchroom had held brief discussions with Otto Wallin’s promoter, Dmitry Salita over a potential fight with Whyte, although proboxing-fans.com understands that no development has been made as of yet.
The pair were scheduled to fight in October 2021, however Whyte pulled out with a shoulder injury and went on to face Tyson Fury last April, where his bid to become WBC heavyweight world champion ended in a sixth round stoppage defeat.
