Dillian Whyte targeting rematch against rival who dropped him after summer warm-up fight

Dillian Whyte wants to step into the ring with Joseph Parker again after their 2018 slug-fest.

Whyte has yet to announce his return fight after being brutally stopped by British young prodigy Moses Itauma last August.

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He had previously opened the door to a comeback fight with Zhilei Zhang, but no concrete plans are in place.

Now, the ‘Body Snatcher’ is plotting a summer return and he then wants to follow up with a sequel against Parker, in what would be a crowd-pleasing bout.

The Briton and Parker traded knockdowns in a real thriller at London’s O2 Arena, but it was the Brixton native who edged the decision on the judges scorecards.

“I feel like I’ve got a little bit more left to give, so let’s see what we can do to finish on a high,” Whyte revealed to Ring Magazine.

“I’m training now and I want to be back in May or June. Now it’s just a case of training and seeing what comes up for that sort of date.

“There are a lot of good fights and Joseph Parker is one of them. I’d love to get it on with Joseph Parker, I think that’s a really good fight.

“He needs to come back, he needs to get cleared or whatever, I don’t know the situation.

“So, in the meantime I need to stay busy and have a comeback fight as well, so let’s see.”

The latest on Joseph Parker – is he free to fight Whyte?

A second meeting with Parker is unlikely to be discussed right now until the New Zealander has cleared his name.

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He tested positive for cocaine in a drugs test taken around his devastating WBO interim title clash defeat to Fabio Wardley last October.

Parker has yet to get his official clarity, but is hoping he can prove his innocence and move on his with career.

For now, he would need to be cleared of wrongdoing before pursuing any clash with Whyte.

His trainer Andy Lee is confident that will be the case once the internal enquiry is concluded, telling talkSPORT: “There has been an internal investigation as a team. His manager, David Higgins and I, and other people in the team.

“This is not for me to say right now, but it will come out. We are working with lawyers in the UK and appealing the decision.

“He’s training, but [the failed drugs test] has really shook him. He was just at a loss about how it got into his system.”

Boxing schedule

For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s  boxing schedule.