Dillian Whyte doesn’t consider his rematch against Anthony Joshua the foregone conclusion it appeared to be not all that long ago.

The brash heavyweight contender eviscerated Joshua because Whyte doesn’t think the former heavyweight champion wants to fight him next. Whyte also criticized Joshua during an interview with IFL TV for facing an opponent Saturday night, Jermaine Franklin, that Whyte beat in his most recent bout.

“These c-nts don’t wanna fight, bro,” Whyte said. “These c-nts all talk sh!t – every single one of them. Wilder, Joshua. Joshua’s a c-nt. Joshua’s a c-nt. Joshua’s a c-nt. He wants to fight my leftovers and then talk sh!t. ‘Oh, [Franklin has] lost this much weight. He looks better.’ No, he’s not. The hardest man to beat is someone who’s an undefeated heavyweight. He’s been beaten already. His mind is broke. He’s in court with [his promoter] Dmitriy Salita, lawsuits and sh!t going into the fight. He’s [fought] a real victim [Saturday night]. They’re c-nts. They’re c-nts. They’re c-nts. They’re c-nts. They’re just c-nts. They’re c-nts.”

Joshua’s decisive defeat of Franklin in their 12-round bout at O2 Arena in London was his first victory since the British icon knocked out Bulgarian contender Kubrat Pulev (29-3, 14 KOs) in the ninth round of their December 2020 bout at OVO Arena Wembley in London. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist defeated Franklin comfortably on all three scorecards (118-111, 117-111, 117-111) in his first fight with another new trainer, Derrick James, in his corner.

The 33-year-old Joshua looked tentative at times and often held Franklin on the inside, yet he also landed the flusher punches more consistently against an opponent who displayed a reliable chin. Whyte beat Franklin on two scorecards (116-112, 116-112, 115-115) in what was a more competitive 12-rounder November 26 at OVO Arena Wembley.

Eddie Hearn – whose company, Matchroom Boxing, promotes Joshua – mentioned Whyte as a potential opponent for Joshua’s next fight during a post-fight press conference. Nevertheless, Whyte doesn’t understand why Joshua even fought Franklin.

“They shoulda fought me,” Whyte said. “That’s a fact. People [didn’t] wanna see him fight Franklin. He should’ve fought me. You know? Why does he need a warmup to fight me?”

Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) stopped Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs) in the seventh round of their December 2015 bout at O2 Arena. That victory occurred in Joshua’s last bout before he became a heavyweight champion less than four months later, when he knocked out previously unbeaten American Charles Martin in the second round to win the IBF belt.

Whyte wants his shot at redemption, but he is exploring other options because he isn’t confident Joshua will fight him again.

“Listen, I wanna fight,” Whyte said. “I’m not gonna wait for Joshua. Joshua is unpredictable.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.