By Scott Gilfoid: Heavyweight prospect Dillian Whyte (17-1, 14 KOs) says he’ll gladly fight former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver in September if he doesn’t price himself out for the fight by asking for too much money to accept the fight. It’s unclear how much money that would be offered for the 47-year-old Tarver to take the fight, but you’ve got to figure that it wouldn’t be much.
Given that Tarver would be the B-side opponent for the 28-year-old Whyte, were probably not talking about a whole heck of a lot of money. The only reason that Tarver could possibly agree to a small money fight against Whyte is the potential for a big pot of gold if he beats him. Tarver might be able to get a big payday fight against IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who fights for the same promoter as Whyte does.
“I don’t mind beating someone of his status and putting the name on my record,” Whyte said to skysports.com. “He’s just got to make sure he doesn’t price himself out. Be realistic, give Eddie Hearn a call and we can sort the fight out for September. If Tarver gets his license then we can do it.”
Whyte might want to reconsider a fight against Tarver right now, because his left shoulder doesn’t look like it’s ready to take on an experienced fighter like Tarver. I think Whyte should wait until his surgically repaired shoulder is at full strength before he takes on Tarver, because right now I don’t think he’s got enough strength in the shoulder for him to beat him. Whyte looked horrible in his last fight against Ivica Bacurin last month on the Anthony Joshua vs. Dominic Breazeale card on June 25.
“He’s a good fighter and I’ve got respect for him but if he thinks he can come into my hometown and beat me, he’s having a laugh,” said Whyte about Tarver. “He’s an old man and I’ll give him a heart attack with the pace I’d set in that ring. I believe I’ll knock him out and if I don’t, it will be a TKO because I’ll set a very high tempo in the fight.”
Age doesn’t matter. Tarver is still fighting at a high level, and he’s more than capable of beating a one-armed fighter like Whyte. The problem with Whyte is he doesn’t have a very good right hand. His right hand has decent but not major punching power. It was always his left hand that was the one that gave him power. In his last fight against Bacurin, Whyte rarely used his left hand, and you could tell that he doesn’t seem to have any faith in it.