Dillian Whyte, the longtime WBC mandatory title challenger, was in position to face the winner of the third Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder fight for the championship sometime next year. All he had to do was beat the aging Alexander Povetkin on Saturday in Brentwood, England.
Oops.
Povetkin, who had been down twice in Round 4, stunned everyone watching by knocking Whyte down and out with a single uppercut 30 seconds into Round 5 to pump life into his career by winning the “interim” title and turn Whyte’s upside down.
The good news for Whyte could be that there was a rematch clause in the contract and he evidently plans to exercise it before the end of the year.
“There was a rematch clause,” promoter Eddie Hearn said. “When [Whyte] was leaving the ring, he said, ‘Get the rematch, get the rematch.”
Whyte (27-2, 18 KOs) had a miserable 2019, when a drug test after his victory over Oscar Rivas in July revealed an “adverse finding” and he was suspended only to be exonerated in December. Still, ranked No. 1 for two-plus years, he was in good position to get another shot at a title.
And things went well for four rounds Saturday at Fight Camp. The bigger man fought cautiously the first few rounds, jabbing nicely, going to the body on occasion, but taking no significant chances.
Then, in Round 4, he seemed to take full control of the fight. He landed two rights and then a short left hook forced Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs) to one knee about 30 seconds into the round. A few minutes later a left uppercut put Povetkin on his side, giving Whyte a 10-7 round and all the momentum.
At that moment, it seemed only a matter of time before Whyte would put his seemingly tired, 40-year-old opponent away. However, heavyweight fights often provide surprises.
“I was pretty confident in the fourth round,” Povetkin said through a translator. “I went down but I was OK. It wasn’t too much damage so ….”
So it turned out he was right. About 20 seconds into Round 5, Povetkin slipped a lazy right from Whyte and landed a perfect left uppercut of his own that relieved Whyte of his senses before his back hit the canvas. Referee Mark Lyson didn’t bother count. Instead, he waved his arms immediately, ending the fight.
Whyte seemed dazed for several minutes after the knockout but, as Hearn pointed out, he was clear on what he must do if he wants to regain his status and fight for a major title.
“I can’t quite believe it,” Hearn said. “When he landed the punch, it felt like some dream. The fight was over virtually. Povetkin started well. Dillian Whyte was just measuring him and then he had the great finish to the round before, when he knocked Povetkin down. … I felt it was over, a lot of people felt it was over.
“The drama of the sport we love, the drama of heavyweight boxing is one punch change everything.”
The victory was arguably the greatest in the career of Povetkin, who turned pro in 2005, shortly after winning the heavyweight gold medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He has twice fought for a major title but fell short both times, to Wladimir Klitschko in 2013 and Anthony Joshua in 2018.
A loss on Saturday might’ve been the end of his career as an elite heavyweight. Instead, he shocked Whyte and the world by winning a fight he had been losing via what might be the Knockout of the Year.
The question now is: Can he do it again? If what Hearn said is accurate, then Povetkin will have to beat Whyte a second time to have a realistic chance of fighting for a major title. That seems to be unlikely based on what we saw for four rounds.
At the same time, Povetkin just proved he can deliver the unlikely.