Dillian Whyte has taken aim at Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker, claiming the referee saved him from suffering a knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua.
Parker's promoter David Higgins raised concerns about the officials for the upcoming fight against Whyte after the performance of referee Giuseppe Quartarone in the New Zealander's points loss to Joshua in April.
Despite Higgins' concerns, Whyte feels like the referee helped the former WBO champion out in Cardiff as Quartarone stepped in when Joshua was about to unleash.
"Both of them fought completely different," Whyte told Sky Sports UK.
"Parker was on the back foot, he's usually a come-forward fighter, and Joshua wasn't able to cut him off and close him down as much as he would have liked to, because they were both happy and content. Parker was happy and content to lose, Joshua was happy and content to pick up the win.
"Their styles didn't gel. The referee didn't help the situation, but I believe the referee helped Joseph Parker out because had he allowed them to fight on the inside, I reckon Joshua would have won by KO."
Higgins has demanded British boxing officials appoint a world-class referee for the upcoming fight at London's O2 Arena on July 29 (NZ time).
Team Parker also had issues with the officials during the win over Hughie Fury which led to Terry O'Connor getting pulled from the fight after concerns surrounding potential bias.
Both Parker (24-1 and Whyte (23-1) have almost identical records, and both have lost to the man from Watford during their professional careers.
However, the 33-year-old Whyte insists that he isn’t that far ahead just yet.
"Well, a fight with me and Anthony Joshua is always a phone call away," said Whyte. "It can happen next fight, two fights from now, who knows?
"But I've got bigger things to focus on right now, and it's Joseph Parker, so I'm focusing on that. After the 29th of July, I'll start screaming from the roof about a fight. But now I've got Joseph Parker to focus on.
"It's a big challenge, so I'm completely focusing on cutting him down, and hacking him to bits on the night."
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