Tag: Heavyvweight title

Dillian Whyte: ‘I’ll knock (Alexander) Povetkin out’ in rematch

Dillian Whyte said that he would knock out Alexander Povetkin in their rematch after losing to the Russian on Saturday night. 

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.

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Dillian Whyte said that he would knock out Alexander Povetkin in their rematch after losing to the Russian on Saturday night.

The 40-year-old fighter floored Whyte with an uppercut in the fifth round of their Fight Camp fight after the Briton had appeared to be dominating the bout.

Povetkin claimed the mandatory challenger status that comes with the WBC “interim” belt.

Whyte and promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that they would be exercising the rematch clause in their contract with Povetkin, which frees up Tyson Fury to set up a potential unification fight with Anthony Joshua.

Speaking on social media on Monday, Whyte thanked fans and was stoic after his surprise defeat.

“Thanks everyone for their support. I’m all right as you can see, I’m fine. I’m well, I’m good,” he said. “We didn’t get the victory we wanted. We set off all right, and we were bossing the fight.

“But with boxing you get caught, that’s how it goes. If you fight good fighters, you will get stopped at some point. You will get knocked down and knocked out, that’s how it goes.”

He then confirmed he expected to fight Povetkin again later in 2020 and would soon be back in training

“We reckon the rematch, we can get it November, December time,” he said. “I’m probably going to have another 10, 12 days of rest and get straight back in the gym.

“In the rematch, I’ll knock Povetkin out — promise that. Watch this space.”

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Dillian Whyte: ‘I’ll knock (Alexander) Povetkin out’ in rematch

Dillian Whyte said that he would knock out Alexander Povetkin in their rematch after losing to the Russian on Saturday night. 

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.

***

Dillian Whyte said that he would knock out Alexander Povetkin in their rematch after losing to the Russian on Saturday night.

The 40-year-old fighter floored Whyte with an uppercut in the fifth round of their Fight Camp fight after the Briton had appeared to be dominating the bout.

Povetkin claimed the mandatory challenger status that comes with the WBC “interim” belt.

Whyte and promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that they would be exercising the rematch clause in their contract with Povetkin, which frees up Tyson Fury to set up a potential unification fight with Anthony Joshua.

Speaking on social media on Monday, Whyte thanked fans and was stoic after his surprise defeat.

“Thanks everyone for their support. I’m all right as you can see, I’m fine. I’m well, I’m good,” he said. “We didn’t get the victory we wanted. We set off all right, and we were bossing the fight.

“But with boxing you get caught, that’s how it goes. If you fight good fighters, you will get stopped at some point. You will get knocked down and knocked out, that’s how it goes.”

He then confirmed he expected to fight Povetkin again later in 2020 and would soon be back in training

“We reckon the rematch, we can get it November, December time,” he said. “I’m probably going to have another 10, 12 days of rest and get straight back in the gym.

“In the rematch, I’ll knock Povetkin out — promise that. Watch this space.”

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Povetkin’s KO opens door to Fury-Joshua showdown

Alexander Povetkin’s knockout of Dillian Whyte opened the door for a title-unification bout between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua might want to thank Alexander Povetkin.

The Russian’s stunning one-punch knockout of Dillian Whyte on Saturday opened the door for an all-U.K. heavyweight title-unification bout next year if Fury, the WBC beltholder, beats Deontay Wilder in their third fight and Joshua gets past Kubrat Pulev.

That was confirmed by WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, who had made it clear before Saturday that the Fury-Wilder winner must defend against mandatory challenger Whyte next or risk losing the belt. That changed with Povetkin’s upset.

“We don’t speculate, but the time limitations which were put [into place] by the WBC board, which, had Dillian Whyte won, the winner of the third Fury-Wilder fight has to fight [Whyte] without an intervening bout,” Sulaiman told Sky Sports.

“That now has changed. Dillian has lost, so there are no limitations at the moment for the winner of Fury-Wilder to do any fight whatsoever.”

Sulaiman was referring to the title-unification matchup when he added: “Yes, that includes [Joshua’s title] defense. … In the WBC, there will be no restrictions whatsoever right now. An ultimate unification would be something that everyone would like to see. It’s a matter that brings boxing to the highest level.”

Povetkin became the mandatory challenger with his victory but no timetable has been set for a title challenge involving him.

Sulaiman added that Whyte could regain his mandatory status if he beats Povetkin in a rematch. Povetkin is contractually obliged to fight Whyte a second time.

“Most likely so,” the WBC executive said. “This is a fight that created a great interest. This fight might have been underestimated, underrated in the world scene and maybe also in the U.K. Povetkin is a former champion, a fighter who has fought some of the best in the division in the last decade, and he showed it in the ring.”