Alexander Povetkin vs. Dillian Whyte 2 – live action from Gibraltar

By Boxing News - 03/27/2021 - Comments

By Mark Eisner: Dillian ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) avenged his defeat last year to Alexander Povetkin (36-3-1, 25 KOs) in stopping him in the 4th round on Saturday night in their rematch at Gibraltar. The time of the stoppage was at 2:39 of round four.

The win saved Whyte’s career, keeping him in the running for a world title shot against the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight. Whyte captured the interim WBC heavyweight title along with the WBC mandatory spot with the victory.

Whyte dropped the 41-year-old Povetkin with a big left uppercut in the fourth round, and the fight was halted after the Russian fighter staggered back to his feet. Povetkin’s corner threw in the towel to ensure that the fight was halted.

Whyte had Povetkin hurt from the first round after nailing him with a big right to the head. From that point on, Povetkin’s legs were gone, looking rubbery.

It’s unclear if Whyte will give Povetkin a trilogy match, as the two heavyweights are now 1-1 in their rivalry.

  • Fabio Wardley (11-0, 10 KOs) weathered a storm stop former two-time heavyweight world title challenger Eric Molina (27-7, 19 KOs) by a fifth round knockout. The stoppage was controversial, however, as Wardley appeared to hit Molina with a right-hand illegal rabbit punch to the back of his head. Unfortunately, the referee missed the punch to the back of Molina’s head, so the knockout stood. Moments before, Molina had hurt Wardley with a clean right hand to the head that sent him retreating across the ring. When Molina was trying to finish Wardley, he got clipped with a punch to the back of the head that put him down. The rest was history. The time of the stoppage was at 52 seconds of the fifth round. Overall, it wasn’t a great performance by Wardley, who was hurt to the body in the fourth round. His punch resistance didn’t look good when getting hit by Molina, and he was too easy to hit. For Wardley to get to the next level, he’s going to need to work on his defense.
  • Ted Cheeseman (17-2-1, 10 KOs) wore down and stopped James Metcalf (21-1, 13 KOs) in the 11th round to win the vacant British junior middleweight title. Cheeseman, landed a right hand shot that appeared to land to the back of Metcalf’s head that hurt him. From there, Cheeseman followed with another right hand that put Metcalf down. The fight was then halted. The time of the stoppage was at 3:10 of round 11. It was good victory for Cheeseman, who came clue to halting the game Metcalf in the fourth round after hurting him with some big shots.
  • Campbell Hatton (1-0) defeated winless journeyman Jesus Ruiz (0-11) by a four-round points decision in his pro debut. The referee scored it 40-36. Hatton hurt Ruiz with a left to the body in the fourth round. “I know I can do a lot better than that. The nerves got to be a bit,” said Hatton. “The toughness is different. I was surprised at how tough he was. I have a lot of the same strengths as my dad had. He was a very tough man.” Campbell needs to work on his defense, as he was getting from time to time by the light-hitting Ruiz. For Campbell to live with the better opposition he’ll need to work on his defense and especially his punching power. Campbell doesn’t hit nearly as hard as his famous father former two-division world champion Ricky Hatton.
  • Michael McKinson (20-0, 2 KOs) used his unorthodox attacking style to dethrone WBO Global welterweight champion Chris Kongo (12-1, 7 KOs) in winning a 10 round unanimous decision. In the first round, McKinson was given credit for a knockdown when his feet got tangled with Kongo. McKinson landed a right-hand shot while Kongo was off-balance, putting him on the canvas. Unfortunately, the referee didn’t see the trip, and he gave McKinson credit for the knockdown. The scores were 97-93, 96-94, and 95-94.
  • Big punching heavyweight Nick Webb (17-2, 13 KOs) surprisingly knocked out previously unbeaten Erik Pfeifer (7-1, 5 KO) by a second-round stoppage.

Preview:

Dillian Whyte says he’s “definitely going to beat the 41-year-old Povetkin, and sees it as a sure-thing knockout.

If Whyte loses, it’s going to take incredibly careful maneuvering by his promoter Eddie Hearn to rebuild him to the point where he previously was. I don’t know that it’s possible, but you can’t overlook what Hearn is capable of doing.

The confidence for the ‘Body Snatcher’ Whyte is through the roof, and we’ll see if he knows what he’s talking about or is this just a facade he’s putting on.

The last time these two heavyweights met, Whyte looked great early on, knocking Povetkin down twice in round four, and seeming to be on his way to an early night.

Tragedy struck in the fifth round when Povetkin caught Whyte with a left uppercut that put him to sleep long enough for the contest to be halted by referee Mark Lyson.

Not interested in taking a tune-up to prepare for this fight, Whyte is back inside the ring, risking everything for a second time.

Whyte didn’t have to take this fight if he didn’t want to, as his promoter Eddie Hearn would have steered him carefully into a world title shot by going in another direction.

Dillian has too much pride to walk away without trying to avenge the loss, which is why we’re seeing him back in there with the 41-year-old Povetkin.

Dillian Whyte has revenge on his mind going into tonight’s rematch with Alexander Povetkin in their headliner fight on DAZN and Sky Sports Box Office from Gibraltar. Undercard action for the Povetkin – Whyte 2 card begins at 2 pm ET.

This is a make-or-break fight for Whyte (27-2, 18 KOs), who faces WBC interim heavyweight champion Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs) for the second time in seven months.