Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte does not agree with the position that he needs a win over Alexander Povetkin in order to secure a high profile showdown with former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder.

Whyte has been out of action since August of last year, when he was brutally knocked out in five rounds by Alexander Povetkin.

At the start of 2020 - Whyte was the mandatory challenger to the WBC title, and Wilder was the organization's world champion.

Wilder lost the title last February, when he was stopped in seven rounds by Tyson Fury. And Povetkin captured the WBC's interim-title when he knocked out Whyte.

A mandatory rematch between Whyte and Povetkin has been postponed several times. 

It was going to take place this coming Saturday, March 6, but it was recently pushed back to March 27 due to COVID-related travel restrictions in the UK.

Eddie Hearn, who promotes Whyte, has been talking up the possibility of matching his fighter against Wilder.

Even with the recent loss, Whyte believes a fight with Wilder could be made right now - but for the moment he's very focused on the upcoming rematch with Povetkin.

“I could fight Deontay Wilder now, regardless. I don’t need to beat Povetkin to fight Deontay Wilder. The only thing Deontay Wilder held was the heavyweight championship of the world. He wasn’t a big draw, he wasn’t a big ticket-seller. He wasn’t even selling out arenas in America and he’s American. So he wasn’t a big draw, he just had the belt and he’s lost the belt, so he’s got nothing now," Whyte told Talk Sport Fight Night.

“I definitely want the Deontay Wilder fight, but right now I’m focused on Povetkin obviously. Povetkin’s a serious guy, very serious operator. Once I beat Povetkin, let’s see what happens. I want to fight for the world title.”