Anthony Joshua to forget Dillian Whyte as Gary Cornish takes priority
Thursday 10 September 2015 14:27, UK
Anthony Joshua says Dillian Whyte will be a long way from his mind when he is ducking Gary Cornish's "haymakers" on Saturday night.
Joshua's 14th opponent is unbeaten in 21 professional contests but has barely rated a mention in a build-up dominated by the Olympic champion's ongoing rivalry with Whyte.
The old amateur foes are due to meet for the British heavyweight title on December 12, provided they come through this weekend's assignments at London's O2 Arena, and Whyte renewed his verbal attack on Joshua as both attended a final pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
But Joshua is convinced Cornish will test him like none of his 13 knockout victims in the professional ranks and is ready to park Whyte to one side until he deals with the Scottish Highlander.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: "When Gary Cornish is throwing haymakers my mind isn't going to be drifting off to what I'm going to be doing in December.
"People like [Whyte] come and go. I'm not the first person it's happened to in the history of boxing. It's part of the sport, and I've got to keep my professional hat on and deal with business."
Asked what he thought of his amateur conqueror Whyte branding him "a fake" and worse, Joshua said: "What can I say? You might as well put him as the headline."
A Commonwealth title once held by Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis is on the line on Saturday night, and Joshua sees the belt as a key stepping stone on a carefully-planned route to elite level.
"Some great champions and legendary characters have won it," he said. "It puts you in good stead and builds you as fighter.
"As an amateur I had the novices, the ABAs, the GBs, Euros, Worlds and Olympics. Right now we're at the starting phase - I've got the WBC International, next is the Commonwealth and if I keep on progressing like I did as an amateur I can potentially reach the same heights I did as an amateur in the professional ranks."
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