Alexander Povetkin 228.25 vs. Dillian Whyte 247.25 – weigh-in results

By Boxing News - 03/26/2021 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Dillian Whyte weighed in 19 lbs heavyweight than Alexander Povetkin in coming in at 247.25 lbs during Friday’s weigh-in for their rematch at Gibraltar this Saturday night.

Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs) is a little over four pounds heavier than last time he fought Dilliain in weighing in at a chunky-looking 228.25 lbs. I wish I could say the extra 4.25 lbs that the 41-year-old Povetkin put on since last August was all muscle, but I can’t.

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The former WBA heavyweight champion Povetkin looked soft in the midsection, perhaps due to the downtime he had after catching COVID 19 in late 2020. With the illness, it kept Povetkin training, wiping their planned November rematch.

Despite being five lbs lighter than the 252.25 lbs that Whyte weighed in last time he fought Povetkin, he still looked flabby around the middle, as if he could stand to lose another 20 lbs.

Whyte at in the low 230s, would be carved up, but that would take a lot of cardio and strict dieting for him to get to that weight. Dillian would likely lose some punching power if he were to trim off all the flab on his physique, and he clearly wasn’t willing to do that.

The area that Whyte needs the most help with for the rematch with Povetkin is in the chin department. It’s not so much the weight, but the chin is where he was found out last time.

Yeah, we heard Whyte try and defuse criticism after his fifth-round knockout loss to Povetkin last summer, blaming the defeat on having made a mistake. That’s not why Dillian lost.

Whyte got knocked out because he couldn’t handle the power from the 2004 Olympic gold medalist.

That means that unless Whyte can get Povetkin out of there early on Saturday night, we’re very likely to see the same outcome as last time with the Russian fighter knocking Dillian out again. It’s as simple as that.

Whyte’s weight advantage for the rematch isn’t as significant as the 28.25 lbs that he had over the then 224 lb Povetkin last time they fought on August 22nd at the Matchroom Boxing Fight camp but it’s still enough to be a potential factor.

In addition to his 19-lb weight advantage, the 6’4″ Whyte is two inches taller with a three-inch reach advantage than the 6’2″ Povetkin. Also, the 32-year-old Whyte is nine years younger than the 41-year-old Povetkin.

To add to all that, Whyte’s promoters at Matchroom Boxing are the lead promoters for the card on Saturday, which may or may not help him if the fight goes to the scorecards.

The fight isn’t expected to go the full 12 rounds, thankfully, so there’s little chance that we’ll see the judges play a part in the outcome. That’s always nice when the judges are kept out of the equation because there’s too much riding on this match’s outcome.

“I’ve trained hard, worked hard, and come in a stone or lighter than usual,” said Whyte talking about the small changes to his physique at Friday’s weigh-in.

“I’ve made little adjustments, and I’m prepared for 12 rounds. I probably respected him too much,” said Dillian, trying to make sense about what happened to him last time against Povetkin.

“He’s a good fighter. People start telling me this, that, and the other about Povetkin, and you can be more careful because of it. But this time, I don’t care. I just don’t care,” said Whyte.

It’s hard to know what to make of Whyte’s comments other than the fact that he sounds lost, confused, and still trying to come to grips with what happened to him last time.

As far as Whyte’s “I just don’t care” remark, that’s a little disturbing because he has too much to lose for him to be taking a carefree nonchalant attitude about this fight.

A loss here for Whyte will have serious repercussions for his career, wiping out millions that he could make fighting the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight.

The WBC interim heavyweight title and the mandatory spot will be up or grabs for the Povetkin vs. Whyte 2 rematch on Saturday. DAZN and Sky Box Office will be showing the contest.