Dillian Whyte has hit out at Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder ahead of his fight with Alexander Povetkin in Gibraltar on Saturday night.
The 32-year-old Briton is aiming to reclaim the WBC interim championship belt that he lost to the 41-year-old Russian in last year’s Fight Camp finale.
Whyte looked to be in charge for the first four rounds, putting Povetkin on the canvas twice before suffering a knockout in the fifth round after a brutal uppercut.
Speaking to The Times, Whyte said that he is not haunted by the moment.
“Of course I watch it back,” he said.
“This is nothing. I lost to two Olympic champions.
“I’m a tough person, not someone who is mentally insecure or fragile. I know where heavyweight boxing goes. I’m not the first heavyweight to lose a fight they shouldn’t lose.
“You fight good people you will get knocked out at some point. I should have had my chance years ago, but it didn’t materialise, so I have been rolling the dice ever since.”
Whyte suggested that fellow heavyweight Wilder is an example of how not to react to disappointment.
He said: “I don’t let these things get me down. Look at Wilder. He lost and he keeps crying about it every day, he makes ridiculous excuses.
“He doesn’t need to be like that. He could man up and get on with it.”
The Body Snatcher was interim champion for three years and never got a chance at the title, while Fury was allowed to step up to challenge Wilder to claim the championship, before moving onto a two-fight deal with Anthony Joshua set to start this summer.
Whyte believes that he was not treated fairly in the process.
“Money talks,” he explained. “It’s who you know, who’s flavour of the month. Always been like that. I’m not the only one who’s had to wait.
“He comes back and gets the WBC chance straight away. Boxing’s never going to change. If I said half the things Fury says, I’d be in serious trouble and made to look terrible.”