DILLIAN WHYTE has slammed claims Tyson Fury is the greatest heavyweight of all time – but admitted his rival is the best of their era for now.
After the Gypsy King’s heroic trilogy bout with Deontay Wilder, where he scored a dramatic 11th round knockout, he boasted of being the best to ever do it.
But Whyte argues with only two wins over Wilder, 36, and a famous 2015 upset of Wladimir Klitschko, 45, to his name, it does not compare to other legends.
He said on CNN: “Who has he fought? Deontay Wilder and Klitschko, he can’t call himself the greatest.
“OK, you might be the best heavyweight around in your era now because you haven’t lost, then you beat everyone put in front of you.
“But you’re not the greatest. You haven’t even achieved half of what Lennox Lewis has achieved: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman- all of these guys.”
Whyte is currently the WBC ‘interim’ champion, putting him in line to challenge for Fury’s world title.
He was due to defend that status against Otto Wallin, 30, on the weekend, until the British contender, 32, withdrew with a shoulder injury.
Wallin’s team are hoping to have the fight rescheduled, after the WBC ordered the winner to fight Fury, 33.
But Whyte appears ready to instead focus on the Gypsy King, which he argues is just ‘common sense’ having patiently waited so long for his shot at gold.
He told talkSPORT: “Fury’s got the world title and that’s what I’ve been waiting for, that’s what I’ve worked for.
“I don’t even know how much sanctioning fees I’ve paid.
“I could’ve easily abandoned this route and gone down another route years ago, but I’ve waited and I’ve waited and I’ve waited.
“So what am I going to do? Fight Otto Wallin or fight Tyson Fury, what are you gonna do?
“It’s common sense. Like I said, I’m not scared of no-one. I wanted to fight.
“I think they’re going to mandate me vs Tyson Fury, they’ve basically said it already.
“It’s already been mandated really, so we don’t need to wait – I want it to be in the UK man, that’s a UK fight.
“That’s the biggest all-British heavyweight title fight since Lennox Lewis vs Frank Bruno.”
