DILLIAN WHYTE VS ALEXANDER POVETKIN

On Saturday, August 22, 2020, Dillian Whyte is set to go up against Alexander Povetkin. This fight not only has high stakes for these two Heavyweight contenders but for the whole Heavyweight division. Dillian Whyte currently sits as the mandatory challenger for the WBC World Heavyweight Champion, which is held by Tyson Fury.

Dillian Whyte has now been waiting well over 1,000 days as the number 1 challenger for his shot at the WBC Heavyweight belt and has continuously risked his title shot by taking on numerous opponents. Whyte’s previous three fights have resulted as follows:

December 22, 2018 – Derrick Chisora – Result: Knockout
July 20, 2019 – Oscar Rivas – Result: Unanimous decision
December 7, 2019 – Mariusz Wach – Result: Unanimous decision

Up next, stands a tall task against Alexander Povetkin who is 35-2-1, with 24 of those wins resulting in a knockout. This fight was originally scheduled to happen in May, but due to the Global pandemic it got pushed back and promoter, Eddie Hearn managed to get it rescheduled to headline Matchroom’s “Fight Camp” as a sort of finale of the 4 shows.

Fight Camp has been hosted in Matchroom’s headquarters in Brentwood, England. it began on August 1 and ends up with the main event on August 22, 2020, between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin.

It was announced on the 15th August, less than 1 week ago, by the President of the WBC that the Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin bout will now be for the \’WBC Diamond Belt\’ which will be for the first time in Heavyweight history. With a lot on the line in this bout, you can be certain that Whyte and Povetkin are not going to be friendly with each other prior to the main event. Promoter Eddie Hearn had this to say when discussing what could potentially happen in the hotel if these two were to cross paths:

“Fighters crossing each other, good luck mate, good luck mate…this is different…if he [Whyte] sees Povetkin on fight week…he doesn’t wanna be friendly…he wants to rip his head off clean.”

This bout has a lot on the line for both fighters. Essentially, the winner of this will be the mandatory contender for the WBC World Heavyweight Title. If Whyte wins, which we think he will continue to wait as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder still have one more fight left on their contract, much to Matchroom and Whyte\’s dismay.

Fury and Wilder have already fought twice. The first bout was in December of 2018, which resulted in a draw. Many speculated that Wilder had won the fight since he dropped Fury two times late in the fight while others felt that Fury had won enough of the earlier rounds on points to claim the victory, but, the judges saw it differently and set them up perfectly for a rematch.

The rematch took place on February 22, 2020, which saw Tyson Fury defeat Deontay Wilder by TKO and claim the WBC World Heavyweight Belt. With one fight left on the contract, many are speculating when the fight will take place. The national pandemic has caused a lot of delays with these major bouts as both fighters want to profit as much as possible. Without fans, there will not be as much money with no ticket revenue and so, the fighters are aiming for a date when fans will be allowed back into the building.

The third bout was originally scheduled for the summer of July 2020. Now, the fighters are pushing back the date to December 2020. The exact date is December 19, 2020. Top Rank’s Bob Arum stated, “We’ve reserved that date for Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders are playing on that Thursday [Dec 17], which is perfect. After the game is over, we put up the ring and so forth. We have a couple of days to do it, and Saturday we have a fight.” The Allegiant Stadium is the new arena for the Las Vegas Raiders. Both fighters are expecting tens of millions of dollars if fans are allowed into the venue.

Many fans have since taken to social media calling for Tyson Fury to either hurry his fight along with Deontay Wilder, give Dillian Whyte his mandatory shot or vacate his WBC title. This is mainly due to the fact that Dillian Whyte has waited over 1,000 days to fight for the title but also because Dillian Whyte\’s mandatory fight is still currently scheduled to take place before a date at the end of February 2021.

The unforgotten man in all of this is Anthony Joshua. Earlier in the year, it was reported by Sky Sports News, that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua had reached an agreement on two fights. But promoter Eddie Hearn says that is all dependent on Fury beating Wilder for the third time and retaining the WBC World Heavyweight Title.

Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn has made it clear that AJ wants the WBC World Heavyweight Title. Anthony Joshua will be present at the Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin fight and Hearn anticipates that if Whyte wins the bout, he will call out Anthony Joshua. Whyte’s only loss in his stellar 27-1 record is to Anthony Joshua. But, if Whyte wins, his focus needs to shift to Fury.
Tyson Fury’s agreement with Joshua outlines them setting up to fight each other later in 2021. If Whyte wins on Saturday, many are expecting him and Fury to face off in February of 2021.

Promoter Eddie Hearn says that Fury will not be able to hide any longer, “vacate the title or face Dillian Whyte if he beats Alexander Povetkin.”

With a lot on the line on Saturday night, the winner of this fight will change the dynamic of the Heavyweight division.

Dillian Whyte has waited long enough and risked more than enough since 2017, but, once again he puts everything on the line against a dangerous Alexander Povetkin.