Heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte has revealed that he suffered a broken foot during his first-round defeat against Moses Itauma in Saudi Arabia last August.
The Brixton heavyweight fractured his foot during training camp before injuring it again in his dressing room hours before the fight, but he is now targeting a return against Johnny Fisher before the end of the year.
Whyte explained that the injury began during his summer training camp ahead of the bout. Describing the pain caused by the initial fracture, Whyte said: "It felt like someone had dropped a dumbbell on my foot."
"I was running and I felt it [my foot] and then I went to spar and I was sparring big, agile guys and someone was pressing me, I stepped back the wrong way and then it just fractured clean," Whyte revealed.
Despite the severe injury, Whyte decided to proceed with his preparations. "It was terrible, but we're used to pulling off miracles. We're used to fighting injured," he said. "I made the best of the situation and had a decent camp. I felt good during fight week and really thought I would beat Moses."
Fighting through physical pain is not new for the former two-time WBC interim world champion. Whyte famously entered the ring against bitter rival Anthony Joshua while suffering from a badly damaged shoulder, establishing a career reputation for overcoming severe injuries.
Dressing room injury in Saudi Arabia
However, the foot injury worsened dramatically in Saudi Arabia while Whyte was warming up just hours before facing Itauma in August.
"I started warming up, jumped a little bit of rope, and then reinjured the foot. Completely fractured it again," Whyte said.
The setback required an immediate medical assessment in the dressing room. "We had to call the doctor who was with me to examine it. He advised me not to fight and I said 'no'. There's no way I'm going to come all the way to Saudi and not fight last minute," Whyte said. He added: "I was confident that I would still be able to drag Moses into the later rounds and stop him as [Filip] Hrgovic recently did."
Whyte tried to conceal the damaged foot, which had been heavily strapped, but his lack of mobility was quickly exposed by Itauma. The undefeated prospect landed a succession of unanswered punches before the referee stopped the bout in the opening round.
Silence after defeat and retirement claims
While Itauma celebrated his victory, Whyte remained silent about his injury and has not fought since the contest.
"I didn't want to mention it, go into it, and take away from his win, because he done alright. I got clocked and he won the fight," Whyte explained.
"I didn't want to go on too much about it and I think people got carried away with the fact that I got beat in a round by Moses," he added. "I don't think people would draw the same conclusions if they had the full facts."
Whyte also dismissed calls for his retirement following the quick defeat. "People have short memories and they like to say 'retire because of this, retire because of that' but what they don't realise is we're members of a rare generation of entertaining British heavyweight boxers that are coming to the end of our careers," he said.
"I love boxing and I'll fight anyone. Be grateful that you have guys like me around because when we're gone, there will be a long drought in the heavyweight division," Whyte said. He also addressed wider division rumors, stating that reports suggesting a potential fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua could fall through are nothing more than mind games.
Proposed fight with Johnny Fisher
Whyte has now welcomed a heavyweight battle against Johnny Fisher, who called for a fight with the veteran last week after insisting there is a "good chance" the contest will happen.
Whyte accepted the verbal challenge and attended Fisher's recent fight at the Copper Box Arena last weekend, watching from ringside as Fisher secured a majority decision victory over Michael Pirotton.
"Credit to Johnny Fisher, because he's a big lump, he hasn't had time to learn a lot, but he's got a lot of courage, he's got a lot of heart, he's a big puncher and he's brave," Whyte said. He indicated that he is open to facing Fisher in November or December this year.
"He's a bit frantic and that, but he's very brave and he's a big guy who punches hard. When the fight gets tough, he keeps trying and he keeps coming back," Whyte added. "You can never overlook that but let's be honest, I will knock Johnny Fisher out, simple as that."
Verbal agreement between managers
Whyte's manager, Michael Ofo, revealed that preliminary discussions for the all-British clash have already taken place following Fisher's win.
"The fight was agreed in principle following Fisher's win on Saturday night with a handshake between me and Fisher's manager Adam Morallee," Ofo said.
"I was unsure whether Fisher and his management would take the fight, in spite of Fisher having called Dillian out, so I called Adam over and asked him. He immediately responded: 'Absolutely. Let's do it next!'" Ofo explained.
"It would be a huge all-British clash and a massive event for London. So, let's stop talking and get it on!" Ofo added.
