Dillian Whyte has reacted to being knocked out by Tyson Fury on Saturday and claimed that the 'Gyspy King' broke boxing rules after delivering a flush uppercut on the former number one contender.
Whyte finally got his shot at the WBC strap by taking on Fury at Wembley in the champion's first UK show in almost four years.
Before a packed crowd of 94,000 boxing-mad punters in England's national stadium, Fury controlled the action until delivering a sixth-round uppercut on Whyte which the Londoner failed to recover from after beating the count yet struggling to walk.
According to Whyte, who spoke to Sky Sports on Monday, Fury didn't play fair during the pay-per-view Battle of the Brits which has left him demanding a rematch.
"He full-on pushed me and I fell over and hit my head on the canvas, which is illegal," Whyte stressed, with video replays of the finish showing a clear shove.
"This ain't wrestling, this is boxing. But, you know, you let Fury do what he wants and get away with it," the 'Bodysnatcher' continued, in a hint at a possible conspiracy against him.
"I should have been allowed extra time to recover and then carried on fighting."
"When he pushed me, he went to the referee, 'don't let the fight carry on'," Whyte claimed. "The referee isn't doing his job. Okay, I got caught, no doubt about that, good shot. I didn't go straight down, he full-on, two-handed pushed me. It was a terrible job from the referee, but it is what it is."
With a potential mega-fight against the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua rematch on the horizon, it is certainly in the best interests of boxing promoters such as Fury's Bob Arum and Frank Warren, plus Joshua's Eddie Hearn, who also represents Whyte, for Fury to win.
At the conclusion of the bout on Saturday, however, Fury hinted at retiring and entertained a "hybrid" cross-over bout against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
If Whyte has anything to do with it, however, Fury won't hang up his boxing gloves up just yet to give him a second shot at the crown.
"He said he's going to retire... I hope he doesn't retire because I want another go," Whyte said.
"I gave him just as many problems as he gave me. It wasn't a one-way street. I'm not one of those guys who wants to go out on a loss, I've still got a lot left in me."
As his comments circulated on social media, some fans rushed to agree with Whyte's belief he troubled Fury and that there was foul play.
"Fury lovers won’t admit it but Dillian is right," said one. "Tyson pushed after landing the shot which forced him to the ground… that is illegal in boxing. [It] was a poor finish from a good fight."
"Had Whyte up every round before the illegal push," remarked another, as someone else said: "He’s not wrong, I couldn’t believe none of the commentators/pundits brought up this topic. [He] should have been given time to recover."
"Guys, let's be honest. He's 1000% correct here. And as a Whyte fan, even if he had time to recover, I still think he would've been totaled. But illegal is illegal, you can't push someone to bank a knockdown," was a separate appraisal.
Critics, however, mocked a "deluded" Whyte for having his "heavy costume moment" in relation to another of Fury's victims.
After their February 2020 rematch, Deontay Wilder protested that his bizarre choice of attire for his ring walk tired him before being stopped by Fury in their second of two meetings.
"Dillian, you didn’t win a second of that fight, mate. Give over," Whyte was told.
"Get your six million (pounds) and do one," an unimpressed party told him, with a nod to the 82-18% purse split that saw Fury take home $33.6million including a winner's bonus as Whyte was paid a still respectable $7.4 million.