Anthony Joshua or Dillian Whyte must RETIRE if they lose rematch, warns Hatton

Ricky Hatton believes Anthony Joshua or Dillian Whyte will have to retire from boxing if they lose their rematch.

Eight years on from their blistering first fight, Joshua and Whyte meet again at the O2 Arena on 12 August looking to settle a rivalry that dates back to their amateur days.

Both men come into the contest having got back to winning ways in their last fights, with Joshua sealing a points win over Jermaine Franklin in April. Whyte fought the same opponent last December, also getting the win on the judges’ scorecards.

Both however suffered damaging defeats on the world title stage last year with the Olympian suffering his second successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia last August. Four months earlier, Whyte was emphatically knocked out by Tyson Fury in front of 90,000 people at Wembley.

A win for Joshua, 33, or Whyte, 35, would go some way in propelling the victor back into that world title picture in 2024. But former two-weight world champion Hatton believes the man who walks away defeated may have a very difficult decision to make about their future in the sport.

‘I think AJ has gone maybe a little bit gun-shy, a bit timid at times, a bit too safety first,’ Hatton told Metro.co.uk.

‘Whyte obviously got beat by Fury, I think they are both at a stage in their careers where the loser might hang their gloves up. But don’t think for one minute Whyte can’t go in there and knock out AJ.’

He continued: ‘AJ is an Olympic gold medallist, a two-time world champion having lost and regained the titles. He lost two fights to Usyk which is no shame but at this stage if he goes and loses to Dillian Whyte that could be that.

‘Poor Dillian Whyte was no1 contender for forever and a day, he got made to wait and wait then unfortunately got knocked out when his chance did come.

‘He was no1 contender for years and had to wait so long, [if he loses to Joshua] I think he could say, “I have given my best but I could hang them up now.”’

Joshua secured a seventh round knockout win over Whyte in their thrilling first encounter, a bad tempered affair that saw a brawl spill over following the bell at the end of the first round.

Predicting the outcome of their rematch, Hatton suspects there may be less fireworks with Joshua claiming another victory on the scorecards.

‘They are both at such similar stages in their careers, this rematch could be as good as their first fight,’ Hatton said.

‘I think AJ will box him well early on and Dillian will put pressure on and try draw him in. The reason we love AJ fights is that he can get drawn in and it makes for a barnstormer.

‘It could end the same way. I think AJ wins the early rounds, Dillian will put the pressure on, get in his face and provide some real pressure in the latter rounds. But because of the work I can see him [AJ] doing in the early rounds and his massive heart as he has shown throughout his career, I think he holds out for a points win.’

Hatton was speaking ahead of the launch of new boxing promotion, The Box Off. Four city-based teams will compete in a head-to-head knockout competition with Hatton, undisputed super-lightweight champion Chantelle Cameron, Tom Skinner and UK rapper Jaykae serving as team captains for Manchester, Leeds, London and Birmingham respectively.

For further ticketing information, visit http://www.theboxoff.com/

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