Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte have become two of the most recognizable names in British heavyweight boxing.
However, before both men became notable figures, the two heavyweights shared the ring with one another. Meeting in 2015, Joshua was just 26 years old, with Whyte one year his senior.
Neither man had tasted defeat in their careers when they were scheduled to face one another. ‘AJ’ went into the fight with 14 wins, while Whyte had 16 victories.
Competing for the Commonwealth Boxing Council Heavyweight title, the two had a fiery build-up to their meeting.
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte had an intense face-to-face in 2015
As part of the build-up to their heavyweight meeting, Joshua and White sat down with Sky Sports for a face-to-face. However, the two men had a dislike towards one another at the time.
The two’s heated interaction began as they recalled an amateur boxing fight from 2009, in which Whyte was the winner. Whyte said that his coach at the time did not want him to fight Joshua, however, begged for the fight against his future rival.
“You got bashed up,” Whyte said to Joshua. ‘AJ’ said that his thoughts after the loss, which was his first as an amateur, was that boxing was a lot ‘tougher’ than he previously perceived. Whyte responded by saying, “Yeah, and that’s what you’re going to feel again.”
The interaction then got more flared as Whyte was seemingly challenging Joshua to a brawl in the studio. However, Joshua said, “You talk too much.”
Although Whyte was trying to get Joshua to engage in a physical confrontation, Joshua did not oblige.
The two continued to go back and forth verbally, which included Whyte calling Joshua ‘fake’.
Anthony Joshua got revenge for his amateur loss to Dillian Whyte
When the rivals finally met in the ring in London in December 2015, it would be Joshua who emerged victorious.
Extending his unbeaten record to 15-0, Joshua scored a TKO victory over Whyte, maintaining his 100% knockout rate.
However, just like their face-off, Joshua and Whyte had a heated bout. At the end of the first round, Joshua caught his opponent with a late punch after the bell, which led to Whyte retaliating and trying to land one of his own on ‘AJ’.
The ring became flooded with people trying to separate the heavyweights, however, the fight was able to continue.
Although Whyte was able to shake Joshua in the second round, ‘AJ’ would land a crushing uppercut knockout to win the bout in round seven.
Joshua would go on to become a world champion in his next bout against Charles Martin. He would stay atop of the heavyweight division as Joshua earned wins over Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, and Alexander Povetkin before dropping his titles to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019.