Boxing Results: Dillian Whyte destroys Alexander Povetkin

By Boxing News - 03/27/2021 - Comments

By Matt Lieberman: Dillian Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) saved his career tonight in coming out on fire to score an impressive fourth round knockout victory in his rematch with interim WBC heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (36-3-1, 25 KOs) at The Rock of Gibraltar.

Whyte stunned Povetkin at the start of the fourth round with a straight right that set the tone for the round. A short time later, Dillian landed a huge left that sent Povetkin crashing into the ropes like a rag doll.

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Whyte then followed with a left hook to the head put Povetkin down on his backside. The Russian fighter’s corner threw in the towel when he climbed off the deck, which was a wise move. Povetkin was out of it, and he wouldn’t have been able to defend himself.

The victory for ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte was a career-saver for him, as if he had lost, his dreams of fighting for a world title would have been dashed. Who knows if Whyte would have been in the position to fight for another world title again.

Tonight’s revenge for Whyte was sweet, given that he had been stopped in the 5th round seven months ago by Povetkin at the Matchroom Fight Camp. Whyte didn’t have to take the fight with Povetkin last year, but he chose to, and it blew up in his face.

Image: Boxing Results: Dillian Whyte destroys Alexander Povetkin

Fortunately for Whyte, he was able to right the wrongs from his defeat, and he’s now ready to fight for a world title against the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight in 2022.

“He’s a tough guy and I had to be careful,” said Whyte after the fight in talking about Povetkin. “But I could have finished it early. I’m ready to run it back again. I shouldn’t have lost the first time.

“From the first round, I was on to him. I’ll give him a rematch if he wants one. I don’t care. I’ll fight Povetkin again.  I still believe I can be a world champion and I can beat anyone,” said Whyte.

Dillian’s promoter Eddie Hearn said he would like to match him against Deontay Wilder or Andy Ruiz Jr next if possible. We’ll see if either of those two heavyweights are interested in tangling with Dillian after the way he dispatched Povetkin.

As for Povetkin, it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll do with his career. He looked old tonight, and not the fighter that he’d been in the first match with Dillian.

Some boxing fans might blame Povetkin’s performance on him having contracted COVID 19 late last year. Who knows?

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All we can say is Povetkin looked bad tonight, and he’s going to have to rebuild against somebody. He can’t afford to look like he did tonight if he faces a top 15 contender because he won’t win.

“Whyte performed perfectly,” said Carl Froch to Sky Sports. “He didn’t smother his shots. It was an excellent performance from Whyte.”