By Charles Brun: A day after getting knocked cold in the 5th round, Dillian Whyte still believes he can beat Alexander Povetkin in a rematch if the to of them face each other in December. That’s the plan that Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn has in mind for 2020.
The always stubborn Whyte says he doesn’t have anything to improve on from his performance, and he’s sure that he’ll beat Povetkin in their rematch.
It’s always exciting when you have a fighter like Dillian, 32, that is ignoring the reality that took place inside the ring and resists the idea that they need to make vast improvements.
After getting the better of former WBA heavyweight champion Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs) in the first four rounds, Whyte (27-2, 18 KOs) got caught with a left uppercut in the fifth that send him timbering like a tree onto his back.
While Hearn and many of Dillian’s loyal boxing fans view the loss as just a case of him getting caught by a lucky shot, a lot of people don’t see it in the same way.
Whyte confident of beating Povetkin in a rematch
Fans believe that the talented 2004 Olympic gold medalist Povetkin beat Whyte based on his talent, and they think it’s a lousy idea for him to take an immediate rematch with him.
It could be just as dumb idea as it is for former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Wilder to be taking on Tyson Fury in a third match after being knocked out in the 7th round by him last February.
Whyte, 32, doesn’t have much choice, though, in terms of forcing a second bout against Povetkin. If Whyte wants a title shot against WBC champion Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) to happen anytime soon, he’s got to avenge the loss to Povetkin right away so that he can become the 6’9″ Tyson’s mandatory again.
With that said, it’s a bad gamble on Whyte’s part to take on Povetkin right away, as the Russian fighter will have an excellent chance of knocking him out again, especially if his punch resistance isn’t the same due to the lousy knockout he suffered.
“We were trading and he landed, fair play to him, good fighter. But I know one million percent I can beat him and in the rematch I will handle business,” said Whyte to Sky Sports News on his loss to Povetkin.
Should Dillian take the rematch?
As of last night, Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn wasn’t trying to talk him out of facing the soon to be 41-year-old Povetkin right away in an immediate rematch.
Perhaps showing desperation, Hearn expressed approval of Whyte’s idea of facing Povetkin right away, and he thinks he has a good chance of righting the wrong.
Ideally, it would be better for Whyte to take at least one tune-up before facing Povetkin again, seeing that it would give him a chance to make his punch resistance is still there.
Also, putting distance between him and his defeat to Alexander would be a good idea because he’ll have less of a chance of having the memory of the loss still present.
Hearn says he’s entertaining the idea of using Whyte’s rematch clause in his contract with Povetkin to match the two heavyweights in December for a second battle. That sounds like a great idea on paper, but it could go very wrong with Dillian.
Should he lose a second time, Whyte’s career will be on skidrow, and it would put Hearn in the position whether he needs to decide on keeping him on as one of his Matchroom Boxing stable fighters or release him as he did with American Michael Hunter recently.
Hunter was released after a 10 round draw against Povetkin last December. Will Hearn keep Whyte on if he loses consecutive fights to Povetkin?
That’s the big question. Whyte would still be a useful heavyweight like Dereck Chisora, Dave Allen, and David Price, but he would no longer be a significant player at heavyweight.
From the outside looking in, it seems strange for Hunter to be released after a draw against Povetkin, and Whyte still with Matchroom after being knocked cold. It makes no sense at all.
Only one way for Whyte to earn a title shot
Dillian wants the title shot against WBC heavyweight champion Fury, but the only way he can get that fight is by regaining his mandatory position with the World Boxing Council.
As such, he was beating Povetkin is an absolute must for Whyte, as he’s not going to be given a voluntary fight by Fury, especially now.
Fury recently named three fighters that he wants to face soon, and Whyte’s name wasn’t among the list. Unless Fury is feeling charitable, he’s not going to entertain the idea of throwing Whyte a bone by giving him a title shot in a voluntary defense.
It’s ridiculous even to consider Whyte being able to face the big names like Fury and IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua right now, given that he’s facing the possibility that his career could implode. A second knockout loss to Povetkin in December
“I was bossing the fight, I got clocked,” said Whyte in trying to make sense of what happened to him against Povetkin. “I’ll have a couple weeks’ rest then straight back in the gym.
“It’s not like I need to improve on anything really. Now I’ll realize he’ll come up with the hook or uppercut. It’s a simple adjustment to make.”
It’s more than a little troubling that Whyte is babbling about how he was “bossing” Povetkin around up until he was sparked out in the 5th round. I watched the same fight and had it even going into the 4th. Whyte did well in the fourth in knocking Povetkin down twice, but you could tell he wasn’t hurt badly from either of those knockdowns.
Dillian has no regrets
If you take away the two knockdowns from Dillian, the fight was even, and not a situation where he was controlling the action. The fact that Whyte still doesn’t realize that he was being boxed to a standstill is disturbing.
It makes you wonder if Dillian needs this old trainer Mark Tibbs in his corner so that he can tell him straight what’s happening, so he doesn’t continue to be in denial about what was actually happening.
“I have no regrets, it was a great fight. What do you do? It’s heavyweight boxing,’ said a stubborn Whyte in rationalizing what happened to him, “That’s what happens. I’m still one of the top heavyweights around. I’m still upbeat, still the same me and I can’t wait to get back in there.”
While it’s true that Whyte is still one of the top heavyweights in the division, for now, that doesn’t mean that he’s going to stay in that position for much longer. Whyte’s time as a top fighter in the division could be about to become extinct after he faces Povetkin in a rematch.
The WBC will give Whyte a pass for his fifth-round knockout loss to Povetkin this time, but that won’t be the case if he gets blasted to smithereens in their rematch in December. If Whyte loses to Povetkin by a second knockout, the WBC will look awful silly if they continue to rank Dillian in their top 15. The WBC will have no choice but to drop Whyte from their top 15, as they need to have fighters that are winning, not repeatedly losing by knockout.
In other words, Whyte won’t get a pass by the WBC or any of the other sanctioning bodies if he loses to Povetkin a second time.
Excuses won’t work a second time
Right now, Whyte and Hearn can call Povetkin’s win a fluke thing, but they won’t be able to continue to say that if he crushes Dillian a second time. At that point, it’ll be academic that Povetkin is the better fighter of the to, and that Whyte isn’t good enough to exist with the talented heavyweights in the top tier in the division.