Heavyweight Dillian Whyte will face his toughest test since his knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua as he faces controversial former World Champion, Lucas Browne on Saturday 24th March at the 02 Arena.
Australian Browne was stripped of his WBA world title and banned for six months after testing positive for use of Clenbuterol, after winning the title against Ruslan Chagaev in 2016.
Whyte will be defending his WBC Silver Heavyweight title for the first time after winning it in October against Robert Helenius. This will be the second time that Whyte is headlining the O2 after his British grudge match against Anthony Joshua back in December 2015. The ‘Body Snatcher’, who’s only loss is against Joshua, will be looking to become the mandatory challenger for the WBC belt which has been in Deontay Wilder’s possession since January 2015.
Commitment
Speaking to Sky Sports Whyte questioned Browne’s commitment to the bout. “I don’t think he really wanted this fight. A deal was in place before. He started to try and change the terms.
“He kept delaying things after we gave in to his demands and started saying there was a fight in America he was chasing.”
Despite dismissing Browne’s chances, Whyte is not looking past a former World champion. “I’m focused on going to town on him. If I don’t knock him out, I will not be happy. The plan is to beat Browne and move closer to a world title shot,” he told Sky Sports.
Browne, nicknamed ‘Big Daddy’ will be stepping into the ring for the first time since his two-round demolition job of Matthew Greer in June. The Australian will be attempting to redeem himself after failing two drug tests eight months after winning the title.
‘Drug cheat’
In an interview with iFL TV Browne laughed off the negative ‘drug cheat’ comments from Whyte.
“This is what annoys me about him. It is just stupid. It is going to be a good build up. It is already a good build up. I am going to get inside his head on social media which is going to be fun,” Browne said.
“He calls me a bully and everything else. I am going to show him what a bully really is. I think I made my point. I am here and I am ready to fight.”
For Whyte this would be a chance to get closer to a world title shot, while for Browne this would be a chance for the Aussie to climb back up the rankings to earn himself a shot at redemption and win a world title fairly.