Joshua: Charles Martin will face a hostile reception against Anthony Joshua, warns Dillian Whyte
Tuesday 5 April 2016 11:13, UK
Dillian Whyte has warned Charles Martin to mentally steel himself to face a hostile crowd when he defends his IBF world heavyweight title against Anthony Joshua on Saturday.
Martin (23-0-1-KO21), a native of St Louis, Missouri, is travelling to London to make his first title defence against Joshua (15-0-KO15) at the O2 Arena, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
As the last man to face Joshua, Whyte (16-1-KO13) is well placed to advise Martin on the pressures of facing the unbeaten Briton under the bright lights of the O2.
Whyte suffered the first loss of his professional career when Joshua knocked him out in the seventh round of their thrilling December fight and he admits he found the occasion hard to deal with.
"I hope Charles Martin is prepared and he doesn't get overawed by the crowd because it is a big event," Whyte said on Sky Sports News HQ.
"For me, it was the biggest event I had ever fought in. Sometimes the big stage and the nerves can get to you a little bit and you burn up a lot of nervous energy so I hope Martin is prepared.
"The one advantage Joshua will have is he has been fighting at the O2 in big events for the past few years. The O2 is becoming his home now so I hope Martin is prepared and ready for the crowd.
"Martin is a good fighter. He is a tricky fighter, he is strong and he is a southpaw. Joshua doesn't protect his right side really well and a southpaw's strong side is their left side.
"A lot of people say he is the weakest world champion but hopefully he can prove everybody wrong."
Whyte and Joshua had a well-publicised feud in the build-up to their fight and the bad feeling has shown no sign of abating since.
Despite his brutal knockout at the hands of Joshua, Whyte remains determined to face the former Olympic gold medallist again and is targeting a big fight in September now that he has recovered from a shoulder injury.
"Win, lose or draw, I definitely want to fight Joshua again," Whyte said. "That is something I definitely want to do before my career ends.
"Next time I will be 100 per cent healthy. My shoulder has finally been sorted so I definitely want to fight him again. If he loses his next 10 fights, I don't care. I still want to fight him again."
"I'm looking to make my comeback fight in June, have a couple of fights and then have a big fight in September.
"There are people out there like Shannon Briggs, David Haye, David Price, Derek Chisora, Joshua - I would love to fight one of those guys."
As for who he would like to see win Saturday's fight between Joshua and Martin, Whyte has mixed feelings.
When asked for his prediction, Whyte said: "I don't know. If I am being biased, I would hope Joshua wins because I would love to have a rematch with him and fight for the world title.
"But I know Charles Martin as well. I wish Charles well and I hope he wins so I am going to sit on the fence for this one. It's a very tricky fight and a dangerous fight so I am going to sit on the fence."
Charles Martin vs Anthony Joshua, live on Sky Sports Box Office on April 9. Order the event online.
