By Charles Brun: Dillian Whyte says he would like to get a chance to fight former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder next following his fourth-round knockout victory over Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night in Gibraltar.
Dillian (28-2, 19 KOs) avenged his loss to Povetkin (36-3-1, 25 KOs) in the headliner event on DAZN and Sky Sports Box Office after knocking down the 41-year-old fighter.
Now that Whyte’s rematch business with Povetkin is done, he would like to fight in July so that he could box a third time this year in December.
It would be a quick turnaround for Whyte to fight in July, but he didn’t take any punishment from Povetkin, who looked old tonight like a fighter much older than his chronological age of 41.
As far as fighting Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs), Whyte has doubts whether he’ll ever fight again. He’s been out of the ring since his loss to Tyson Fury in February 2020.
Whyte talks about his mandatory status
“My legal clause as the [WBC] mandatory challenger because I’ve already waited 1000 days,” said Whyte to Fighthub about his belief that he shouldn’t have to wait a year or two before he gets a crack at the WBC world title.
“I shouldn’t be waiting any more time, really. I should be back as [WBC] mandatory again. It’s not like I’m a new mandatory challenger; I’m an old mandatory challenger.
“I should be law be able to fight in the next three to six months [for the WBC title],” said Whyte about his belief that he should be fighting for the WBC strap within six months.
Whyte, 32, might be wrong about his belief that his mandatory status with the World Boxing Council is back to when he beat Oscar Rivas in July 2019 to become the WBC mandatory.
Whyte lost to Povetkin last year in August, which means he lost his WBC mandatory status and his interim WBC title in that defeat. You don’t keep your mandatory status when you beat; that’s not how it goes.
Really, Whyte should be the brand new WBC mandatory challenger starting on day one, which means he has to wait a year before getting his title shot.
Dillian thinks he can force title shot in 3 to 6 months
Whyte’s talking about getting his mandated title shot in three to six months, and that doesn’t make any sense at all. I don’t think for a second the winner of the June fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will face Whyte in 2021. They’re going to make him wait until 2022.
The “1000 days” that Whyte talks about is him being the #1 ranked contender, not the mandatory. There’s a difference between being the #1 ranked contender and being the mandatory challenger.
You have to fight in an official WBC eliminator to become mandatory, and Whyte chose not to fight Luis Ortiz when the WBC ordered the Fight in 2018.
Instead of taking that fight, Whyte waited a year before he finally fought in a WBC title eliminator against Oscar Rivas in July 2019. So that’s he became the official mandatory, not the 1000 days that Whyte is talking about.
Whyte is now a brand new mandatory challenger with the WBC, starting all over again at day one, not 1000 days or whatever he thinks it is. When you lose to someone, you lose your mandatory status, and that’s what happened to Whyte last year.
Dillian would like to fight Wilder
“We don’t know if Deontay Wilder is ever going to fight again,” said Whyte when asked if he would like to fight Wilder next. “He has no interest in fighting again.
“All he does is post pictures with guns, alcohol, drink, and weed. That’s all he posts. I haven’t seen him boxing training or talking about boxing.
“Have you seen him talking about boxing? He may never fight again. I’d love to smash his face in, but if he’s not going to fight again, what can I do?” said Whyte about Wilder.
If Wilder chooses to return to the ring soon, it won’t be against Whyte because there’s no money in that fight.
Why would Wilder take a low-level fight against Whyte when he can force a title shot against Fury and make big money?
Wilder would be a perilous fight for Whyte, and he could be sorry if he ever takes that fight. The punching power that Wilder has would make it difficult for Whyte to stay upright for 12 rounds.
With the 6’7″ Wilder’s size, he would reach Whyte, unlike the 6’2″ Povetkin, who lacked the height and arm reach to consistently land.
Dillian expects to fight in July
“I’ll probably start training again next week. I don’t do nothing else. July probably,” said Whyte when asked when he expects to fight again.
“If I box in July, I can fight in December, and it’s a quick turnaround as well,” said Whyte.
If Whyte fights in July, it won’t be against Wilder, Fury, or July. It also won’t be against the winner of the May 1st fight between Dereck Chisora and Joseph Parker.
It’ll likely be one of these guys that Whyte faces next:
- Zhilei Zhang
- Adam Kownacki
- Michael Hunter