David Haye has issued a warning to Dillian Whyte ahead of his comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin this weekend, telling him that the pressure in on to look good at the Wembley Arena to secure a mega fight with Anthony Joshua next year.
Haye told Metro that a routine points victory would not suffice for the now 35-year-old, making his return to the ring after his devastating knockout defeat to Tyson Fury in April of this year.
However, ‘The Hayemaker’ conceded the American was an unknown quantity of sorts and that he could be ready to shock the world this Saturday night.
“Scraping a points win against Franklin on home turf, that is not the performance we need to see, it is not the performance team Whyte needs.”
‘They need a definitive conclusion, an “I’m back” victory. They need to park up that Tyson Fury defeat and prove they are ready get in there against Anthony Joshua and give us that rematch we want.”
“Dillian is the favourite by a long way. But it is the unknown factor in an unbeaten fighter.”
“There is something about someone who has never lost or tasted defeat as a pro fighter. It gives them that X-factor. We don’t know what he has got. His team might have been waiting for this one opponent to unleash a world class fighter.”
The fight represents a pivotal moment in the career of Whyte, with a blockbuster rematch with old foe Anthony Joshua believed to be in the works should he come through Franklin unscathed.
The American comes into the contest with an unblemished record of 21-0 with 14 victories by stoppage. However, there are few recognisable names on his record so many pundits are having a difficult gauging on what level he truly sits at.
Whyte goes into the fight as a considerable betting favourite, though defeat would be disastrous at this stage of his career and a setback many in the sport feel he would be unable to come back from.