LONDON — Dillian Whyte accused Tyson Fury of engaging “dirty” tactics and says he should have had extra recovery time after being floored during their world heavyweight fight.
Fury retained his WBC heavyweight crown, stopping Whyte in round six of an all-British bout at a delirious Wembley Stadium before repeating his suggestion that he would now retire.
The win for the self-styled ‘Gypsy King’, fighting on UK soil for the first time in four years, was witnessed by 94,000 fans in London – a post-war British record crowd.
However, Whyte believes the referee should have penalised Fury for shoving him before his head thumped against the canvas.
“I was buzzed but obviously I was trying to regather my senses and he proper pushed me and I fell over and hit my head on the canvas, which is illegal,” Whyte told Sky Sports according to AFP.
“This isn’t wrestling, this is boxing. I should have been allowed extra time to recover and then carried on fighting.
“I got caught, no doubt about it. I got caught by a good shot. I was hurt, I was trying to get my senses together and he full on, two-handed pushed me. It wasn’t like a one-armed thing.
“I should have had time to recover, time to go back to my corner, but Tyson Fury gets away with a lot of things.”
Whyte claimed Fury headbutted him after he sustained a gash over his right eye, the first time the Briton had sustained a cut in 31 professional fights.
“He kept on leaning down to the side and putting the head in and stuff like that,” he said.
“He leans down and he put the head in, he clashed with me and I got the cut and obviously the ref started telling me off.
“The fight spiralled a bit, until he started punching me in the back of the head. I started doing it to him and then his corner started throwing water and stuff like that, which was a bit crazy.
“I kept on getting all the blame. He was the one that was holding, he was the one that was headbutting and being dirty in the fight.”
The 6 feet 9 inch (206-centimetre tall) Fury was able to use his considerable height and reach advantage to keep Whyte at bay while the challenger was made to look clumsy and cumbersome.
Whyte, cut over his right eye after an accidental clash of heads, was first installed as the WBC’s number one contender nearly four years ago but he was unable to impose himself.
“I’m overwhelmed with the support,” said Fury after the match. “I can’t believe that my 94,000 countrymen and women have come here tonight to see me perform.
“I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, ‘Thank you so much to every single person who bought a ticket here tonight or stayed up late to watch it on TV’.
