By Charles Brun: In a shocking upset, former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs) knocked out interim WBC champion Dillian Whyte (27-2, 18 KOs( in the fifth round on Saturday night at the Matchroom Boxing Fight Camp in Brentwood, Essex, UK.

Povetkin was knocked down twice in the 4th round, and Whyte may have been a little too confident after that point in the fight. Unfortunately for Dillian things unraveled entirely in the 5th round when Povetkin caught him with a peach of a left uppercut that knocked him cleanout.

There was no getting up from the knockdown, as Whyte was knocked cold. The referee Mark Lyson halted the fight on the spot with Whyte lying on the canvas, too hurt to even try and make it back to his feet. The time of the stoppage was at 0:30 of round five.

With the win, the 40-year-old Povetkin captured the WBC Diamond and interim heavyweight titles. He can now fight for the WBC title against champion Tyson Fury in February 2021. That’s the month that Whyte was supposed to be getting his title shot.

With that said, Whyte’ promoter Eddie Hearn was saying after tonight’s fight that they have a rematch clause in the contract, and he’ll be looking to set up a second Povetkin vs. Whyte contest later this year. Hearn will need to think long and hard about the wisdom of letting Whyte face Povetkin a second time. If Whyte loses again, his career will be finished and he can forget about ever getting a title shot. The way Whyte looked tonight, it would be a bad idea for him to ever face Povetkin again because he’s not talented enough, and he’s too chinny.

One good thing about Povetkin defeating Whyte is it takes him out of the path for a title shot against Fury next February. Whyte and Hearn had been pushing hard for the World Boxing Council to force Fury to face him in 2021.

Fury has no desire to face Whyte, as he wants to take on IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a unification fight. Now that Povetkin has beaten Whyte, it takes away the ability for Hearn and the WBC to force Fury to face Dillian.

Don’t be surprised though if an effort is still made to try and force Fury to face Whyte in early 2021 if Dillian is able to defeat Povetkin in their rematch in late 2020. Hearn is likely to do whatever he has to do to set-up a rematch between Povetkin and Whyte for November or December. If Whyte beats Povetkin, then we’ll see Hearn try and force Fury to face him in early 2021.