By Barry Holbrook: Carl Froch is giving Dillian ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte an excellent chance of upsetting the applecart next Saturday night by beating the betting favorite WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on April 23rd at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Though Froch is picking Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) to win, he feels that Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) has been waiting for this opportunity for so long, that we’re going to see the best of him.
If this is the best version of Whyte that we’ve seen, Fury could be in serious trouble on Saturday night.
It’s obviously not a good omen that Fury was dropped hard twice in his last fight against Deontay Wider, and the only reason he won was that ‘The Bronze Bomber’ gassed out after four rounds.
A victory for Whyte will see him move forward to face the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk II rematch. You’ve got to believe that Usyk will be the one that emerges as the winner of that contest.
Whyte has a chance against Fury
“It’s a great fight. I think Dillian Whyte has a chance, but I’m picking Fury to win,” said Carl Froch to iFL TV on next Saturday’s Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte contest at Wembley Stadium in London.
“Fury is talk, awkward, rangy, light on his feet, and he’s got more experience at the level in terms of self-belief,” continued Froch. “His fights with Deontay Wilder have really taken him to the next level.
“I just think that it’s going to be difficult for Whyte to beat Fury, but he’s in the fight, Whyte is, and he has a massive chance. He’s a decent puncher, and he’ll have trained his best for this. Good preparation fights to build up for it.
“His fight with Chisora was a tough one for him, and his fight with [Joseph] Parker was tough,” said Froch about Whyte’s struggles to beat Chisora and Parker.
“When you look at them performances against those level of fighters, you can’t put those performances as a winning performance against Fury.
“But it’s on the night and you don’t know what’s gone off before the fight and how the camps been in the sparring and how his mindsets been.
“He’s been waiting for a long time for this. I think you’re going to see the best of Dillian Whyte. If you don’t see the best of Tyson Fury as well there could be an upset on the cards,” Froch said.
Fury will be too slick
“I think I’ve pretty much made my case clear,” Froch continued. “I think Tyson Fury is going to be a little bit too slick and out of the way for him. That height and reach is a massive advantage in boxing.
“I’ve got long arms, and when you can land your jab [it can be an advantage]. Tyson Fury has got that height and reach against everyone he fights. He makes it count and makes it pay.
“I think he’ll be too awkward, too slick, and put out of the way of Whyte’s heavy blows.
“But if Whyte backs him up, pins him on the roads in the corners, and stays in close, rolls inside and gets to him and starts landing hooks, who knows? It’s heavyweight boxing, and it’s a two-horse raise. When it’s two horses raising, anybody can win.
“Something can happen, something can go wrong. Fury is definitely in my eyes the favorite. There’s no agenda or bias. Fury made his debut on my undercard for a world title fight. We both signed with the same promoter early on.
“So we’re mates. I’ve known him for years, and I have massive respect for him. Any boxing fan should have massive respect for him and Dillian Whyte. Dillian Whyte, we’re on a good level.
“We talk. Every time we see each other there’s respect there. I think he’s a fantastic fighter. Everything he’s done in the sport is brilliant. I admire the guy. I think he’s excellent. We had a good chat a few years ago,” Froch said.
Whyte still improving
“The way that he’s excelled and progressed in the last five or six fights,” Froch said. “I think he’s a world-beater. He belongs at the world level, and he can certainly cause an upset with Tyson Fury.
“I’m just edging Fury as the favorite with no agenda at all for either of them. May the best man win. May the man that has prepared the hardest and wants it more on the night win.
“I just think Tyson Fury has just got the edge is a very difficult man to beat,” said Froch.
“Dillian vs. Tyson is a huge fight,” said Tony Bellew to iFL TV. “Dillian can win this fight if he jumps on Tyson. I know for a fact that Tyson Fury does not know and isn’t thinking in his mind that this is an easy fight. It’s not.
“No one in the world is having an easy night against Dillian, no one. Oleksandr Usyk wouldn’t have an easy night, Tyson Fury is not going to have an easy night. AJ is not going to have an easy night.
“There’s not a heavyweight in the world that can have an easy night against Dillian Whyte. For the attributes he possesses and what he’s willing to go through, you can’t have an easy night. He’s going to put it on you.
“The only way the easy as it possibly can be is if you cop him in the first round and he goes. but as we’ve seen, he’s durable too, he’s willing to get off the floor. Tyson is going to have his work cut out,” said Bellew.
Tyson = better boxer
“Tyson is by far the better boxer than Dillian Whyte,” said Bellew. “I’m not telling you guys something you don’t already know. Has Tyson Fury faced someone that’s willing to keep getting up off the floor who has the technical ability that Dillian Whyte has to drag him into a hard fight?
“He’s definitely not faced a body puncher as good as Dillian Whyte as well. Believe you me, Tyson Fury has a good-sized midriff to hit as well. It’s not small. Dillian is going to hit that.
“I think AJ was quite open in saying that he’s the hardest body puncher he’s ever faced,” said Bellow about Whyte. “Dillian hits ruthlessly to the body. Expect him to go there early doors,” said Bellew.
