Tyson Fury will get “sloppy” and Dillian Whyte will take him out says Eddie Hearn

By Boxing News - 02/26/2022 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn says he expects WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to get “sloppy” at some point in his fight against Dillian Whyte on April 23rd and win that happens, “bang,” he’s going to get caught by his powerful left hook and taken out.

Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) showed in his last fight against Alexander Povetkin a year ago that his power is still as lethal as it’s always been in knocking out the 41-year-old fighter in the fourth round.

Hearn thinks Fury, 32, will leave himself open, as he did in his last fight against Deontay Wilder, and Whyte will capitalize on the situation by nailing him.

Fury and Whyte are headlining on April 23rd at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

We don’t know if the promoters for the event made a mistake in staging the fight in the giant 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium, considering it’s possible that it won’t sell out due to the promotion being hampered by the two heavyweights not speaking.

Hearn: Fury will get sloppy against Dillian

“I want to see him win the world heavyweight title, and I want to see him do it,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Stars TV on Dillian Whyte beating Fury.

Image: Tyson Fury will get "sloppy" and Dillian Whyte will take him out says Eddie Hearn

“On paper, Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight in the world. He’s the favorite in the fight, but I just feel that Dillian Whyte is so tough to beat, he’s so strong, and he’s such a good body puncher, and he has such a good left hook.

“If you trade up, and I can see it in my mind. Fury just getting sloppy in the fight, trade up, ‘Bang,’ Dereck Chisora left hook. I do believe he [Whyte] can win the fight. It’s a tough fight, but I believe he can win it,” said Hearn about Whyte.

If Whyte doesn’t land one of his big shots as he did against Povetkin, he’s going to get slapped around by Fury for 12 rounds.

We could see a repeat of what Fury did against Dereck Chisora in their rematch in 2014, with Dillian getting hit so many times that he’ll need to be pulled out of the fight in the later rounds.

Talent-wise, Whyte is on the same par with Chisora, a gatekeeper-level heavyweight and not an elite guy. On paper, this is a mismatch, as Fury is a much better fighter than Whyte can ever hope to be, especially now with Dillian coming off a 13-month layoff since his last fight against Povetkin in March 2021.

Whyte doesn’t have the leverage

“Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte, and Whyte waits until the last second to sign the contract, trying to play mind games,” said Max Kellerman on Max on Boxing.

“Fury’s old trainer Ben Davison speculates that maybe Fury boxes him southpaw. There’s lots of intrigue.”

“You have to realize that Dillian Whyte hasn’t been given anything in the sport. He’s been lied to and promised a lot of things over the years. He’s now finally getting his chance,” said Andre Ward.

“I mean, look at the lawsuit between him and the WBC. He felt that strongly about not getting an opportunity to fight, to get this shot through the WBC ranking system that he ultimately sued them.

“Here’s a guy that is fighting and clawing behind the scenes for every little thing, but here’s the problem. I don’t agree with his approach to wait until the last minute to say, ‘I want more money, or I’m not promoting.

“You don’t have that leverage,” said Ward about Dillian. “You can’t be pennywise and dollar dumb.  This is the biggest payday he can get,” said Ward.

“There’s probably no other fight out there for him where he can make this kind of money.

“So if you were an equal to Tyson Fury from a marketing standpoint to what you brought to the table, yes, you can pull that card. But he’s not able to pull that card, but I understand why he’s doing it,” said Ward.

 

Dillian may not ever get another chance

“The X’s and O’s, Dillian Whyte is going to have to be better than he’s ever been,” said Ward. “He’s going to need to come in better shape than he comes.

“He seems to come in decent shape, but he’s got something around the midsection. But people say, ‘So does Tyson Fury.’ It’s different body types. Tyson can come in like that, and you get the sense that he’s in tip-top shape.

“I always get the sense that Dillian Whyte is in good shape but not great shape. He needs to come in great shape because if he loses this fight, he’s probably not going to get another opportunity at this level,” said Ward.

It’s fair to say that if Whyte loses to Fury, this will be the last time he ever fights for a world title during his career.

It’s not feasible to assume that Whyte will be given a voluntary title shot by any of the champions if he loses to Fury, and he’s going to be too old to fight his way to a mandatory spot.

What will hurt Whyte’s chances of getting another title shot is the wasted time. If Whyte chooses to sit out of the ring for 12+ months before fighting again after his fight with Fury on April 23, he’ll be 35, and he would need to slog through two or three years before he’s in a position to fight for a world title.

That would be under ideal circumstances, with Dillian fighting two to three times a year instead of sitting inactive for 12 to 16 months. Whyte would have to beat someone good in a title eliminator next time instead of Oscar Rivas, and he probably isn’t capable of beating the talented contenders.

At this point, Whyte likely loses to the top contender’s Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce, Frank Sanchez, and Filip Hrgovic.

“He is a threat to Tyson Fury. He’s tough, he can punch, but Fury is, if he’s taking this fight seriously, he’s in a nice groove right now, and he seems to be working out,” said Ward about Whyte.

“When Tyson Fury is working out, he seems to be a happy fighter, and a happy fighter is a dangerous fighter,” said Ward.

“Rarely are heavyweight champions considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing, but Tyson Fury has to be in a conversation with a few other names. That’s how great he’s been,” said Kellerman.

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