Dillian Whyte faces Jermaine Franklin on Nov.26th in London

By Boxing News - 10/21/2022 - Comments

Dillian Whyte ‘The Body Snatcher’ will be taking a confidence booster fight against Jermaine Franklin in hopes of returning to his winning ways on November 26th on DAZN at the OVO Arena in London, England.

Whyte (28-3, 19 KOs)  looked bad in his recent sixth round knockout loss to Tyson Fury last April in a failed title shot against the WBC heavyweight belt holder.

The fight brought in a huge audience at Wembley Stadium, but Whyte looked poor in that performance and landed nothing in the fight before Fury knocked him out with an uppercut in the sixth.

Another loss like that for Whyte could wreck his chances of future big paydays, which is why it’s important that he defeat Franklin on November 26th. Franklin is a guy that Whyte has wanted to fight for a long time, as he was viewed as a possibility last year in the summer.

Undercard fights for Whyte-Franklin:

  • Fabio Wardley vs. Nathan Gorman
  • Craig Richards vs. Ricards Bolotniks
  • Sandy Ryan vs. Magali Rodriguez

Franklin isn’t well known in the U.S or the UK. If Eddie Hearn is counting on American boxing fans being familiar with Franklin and excited about seeing Whyte fight this guy, he’s sadly mistaken. It’s fair to say that no one outside of the ultra-hardcore boxing fans in the U.S has heard of Franklin.

With this being a tune-up fight to build Whyte’s confidence and to ensure that he does not lose, it’s understandable why he’s been matched against an obscure fighter like Franklin.

For Franklin, this will be the first contender that he’ll have faced in his career. Up until now, Franklin has been fighting lower-ranked guys, which has helped keep him unbeaten.

Franklin’s last seven opponents:

  • Rodney Moore – 46 years old
  • Pavel Sour – 40
  • Jerry Forrest
  • Rydell Booker – 41
  • Craig Lewis – 38
  • Ed Fountain
  • Cory Phelps

With opposition like that, it’s understandable why Jermaine Franklin has accumulated a 21-0 record, and it also says a lot about how desperate Whyte is to get a victory.

Picking Franklin suggests that Whyte doesn’t want to take any chances of him getting knocked out again and wrecking his chances for a big-money rematch with Anthony Joshua.

The 35-year-old Whyte’s career is not looking good with his two recent knockout losses. But despite the losses, Whyte remains a popular heavyweight in the UK and could be getting a lucrative fight against Anthony Joshua in 2023, as long as he defeats the l28-year-old Franklin (21-0, 14 KOs).

Whyte is ranked #7 WBC & #10 IBF. If he can defeat Franklin and pick up another couple of wins over hopefully notable opposition, he’ll be in position once again for a world title shot.

Given Whyte’s popularity in the UK, he can probably get another title shot against Fury without the need to work his way to a mandatory spot.

To be sure, it would be bad for the fans for Whyte to be given another shot at a belt ahead of more deserving contenders. Still, if Fury chooses to give Dillian the payday, as he’s doing with the struggling near bottom-ranked fringe contender Derek Chisora, it doesn’t matter if he’s not worked himself into a mandatory spot.

At this point in Whyte’s career, it’s highly unlikely he’ll ever work his way into a mandatory spot again because he would need to beat a good heavyweight to earn that position, and his punch resistance will likely get in the way of that happening.

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