Anthony Joshua admits taking satisfaction from 'humbling' rival Dillian Whyte in title fight
Monday 14 December 2015 14:24, UK
Anthony Joshua admits he took satisfaction from 'humbling' Dillian Whyte at the O2 on Saturday night - but insists he is in no rush to mix it with the big boys of the heavyweight division.
The 2012 Olympic champion added the British title to his Commonwealth crown with a dramatic victory over his bitter south London rival - coming through a rocky second round to move into unchartered territory before finishing the contest with a dramatic seventh round knock-out.
David Haye, working at ringside for Sky Sports Box Office, has admitted his and Joshua's 'paths will cross' while Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora - a victor on Saturday's undercard - are others being floated as future opponents.
But Joshua, 26, told Sky Sports News HQ he is happy to bide his time, and follow the example of Fury, the newly crowned WBO and WBA champion.
He said: "Everyone I spoke to who was there or who watched it at home had an unbelievable night. I'm glad that we haven't put our rivalry to rest but I got to give him a sweet uppercut to humble him and I can move forward into 2016 with that in the past.
"Dillian will be remembered as the person who took me past three rounds for the first time. I said that before, that's all it is. I give him credit for that.
"It was a tough title to get hold of. There were times when I hurt him and there were time when he hurt me. There was that commotion in the first round and I finally dug deep enough to get him out of there with a good KO. The bonus of all the trash talking, the bragging rights was the British title that was the cherry on top. I'm over the moon now and can look forward to the European level.
Regarding the explosive start to the bout, Joshua said: "We just went to war, two young heavyweights, we're fit and we just put it all on the line and that's why we started at such a fast pace.
"I felt that I could get him out of there in the first round and I thought that again in the second and stepped up the gas. Then as I'm putting on pressure, he has countered with a sweet left hook and I've lost my balance and then he thinks 'I've got him' but I regrouped myself.
"When I went back to the corner they livened me up and said 'Joshua, you've just got to concentrate on what you are good at. From the third round onwards, I got back to what I do and built on each round.
"In round seven, I caught him with a nice sweet overhand hook built on that and then I whipped a sweet uppercut that lifted him off his feet. That's what I take pleasure in, I like to give people punishment. He couldn't even stand up any more."
Joshua is in no rush to line up his next opponent, insisting he would be happy to follow Tyson Fury's path to the top.
He said: "I can take a lot away from that fight but there is still a lot to work on. I could do better but there were things I learnt from last night that I didn't get from my previous 14 opponents.
"I could fight Haye, I could fight Fury, but you can't just come into professional boxing and think you are going to blitz everybody. The likes of Chisora, he's still been a pro for a long time but I still need to be fighting people who are good enough but who I have a good chance of beating.
"I am slowly getting experience after two years as a pro. People like Fury have been pros for 8-10 years. I don't need to go straight into the deep end for do-or-die fights. I need to build slowly.
"That's what great about Fury; he built experience, he had been down and got up. He showed heart and fought his way back up to be champion. That's exactly the route I am going to take."
