A chunky-looking heavyweight, Dillian Whyte (30-3, 21 KOs), stopped journeyman Christian Hammer (27-11, 17 KOs) in the third round of a scheduled ten-round comeback fight on Sunday night at the TF Royal Hotel in Castlebar, Ireland.
Sluggish Start
Fighting for the first time in two years since 2022, the 35-year-old Whyte walked Hammer down, landing slow, heavy shots to the head and body.
Hammer landed a lot of clean punches to the head of Whyte in the first two rounds, having little trouble landing his shots. Whatever defensive skills Whyte once had, they were gone tonight as he ate Hammer’s punches like cream pies, seemingly enjoying getting hit.
It was fortunate for Whyte that Hammer wasn’t a bigger puncher because he was hitting him at will with shots, snapping Dillian’s head repeatedly. The crowd at ringside at the TF Royal Hotel was screaming each time Hammer would nail Whyte with a shot.
One got the sense that the fans were hoping Whyte would lose, which was interesting because he was the A-side home fighter, more or less.
Hammer Fades, Whyte Finishes
In the third round, Whyte attacked the 38-year-old Hammer to the body with hard left hooks, backing him up against the ropes. The contest was halted after the round.
Whyte’s power looked as good as always, but his hand speed was slow and he looked like he was carrying around some extra fat that he’d put on since his last fight in 2022.
Dillian looked nowhere near the level he’d been when he was stopped in six rounds by WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in April 2022. The inactivity and natural aging that Whyte has undergone in the last 23 months has aged him.
What Next for Whyte?
It’s unclear where Whyte goes from here. He obviously is hoping to get a lucrative rematch with Anthony Joshua, and while that may seem like a pipe dream to some, it’s possible.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, didn’t downgrade Whyte when talking about his comeback fight against Hammer, and he had a gleam in his eye that suggested he’d like to match these two still together.