Dillian Whyte has finally come in from the cold.
After years of being sidelined from the calculations for the world heavyweight title, the 34-year-old will kick down the door to Wembley Stadium on Saturday night with visions of how to achieve his wildest dreams.
Anger at Whyte
Now available on mobile and online
The situation that has played out in the years since Whyte rose through the rankings to become the WBC number one contender has exposed the feared politics that govern the sport from within and one of British boxing’s biggest stars Deadlines paralyzed in a murky swamp of unfulfilled promises and shapeshifting.
The frustration of chasing that elusive world title may have broken another man – but Dillian Whyte is no ordinary fighter.
Raised by hardship in his birthplace Jamaica and then hitting the streets of South London from the age of 12, Whyte knows how to persevere; his whole life was a survival exercise.
“I’m not meant to be here,” he admitted in a gripping interview with BT Sport last week.
“I just want the violence to start”
– Dillian Whyte
Stabbed and shot multiple times, the troubled young man found sanctuary in a boxing gym and transformed his life from chaos and danger to one of discipline and control.
He later turned pro, despite a very limited amateur career – albeit one that included a career-defining win over Anthony Joshua – and began to carve out a path in the most unrelenting of sports.
His relative lack of experience is evident compared to his heavyweight contemporaries; Anthony Joshua won gold at the Olympics, Tyson Fury grew up with boxing in his blood – Dereck Chisora also fought more often as an amateur.
Because of this, Whyte remains a work in progress in some aspects, even today, on the cusp of his 31st professional ring walk.
But while the best pugilists may be better able to discern the improving technicalities of his ringside prowess, his greatest weapon remains the courage, heart, and “hound” that kept him alive than his destiny for the death seemed certain.
He is comfortable in the darkest of times.
“I just want the violence to start,” Whyte told Steve Bunce from his Portuguese training camp.
“I’m calm, I’m cool, but inside it’s just anger and violence. It’s just in my head.”
28-2 (19 KOs)
Dillian Whyte’s record
Controlling the anger and violence in him may have brought Whyte to this point, but against a man unbeaten in 32 fights it probably won’t be enough.
To dethrone Fury, the WBC, The Ring and outright heavyweight king, Whyte must pull off the greatest feat of his career – but many believe he is capable of it, including former two-weight champion David Haye.
“Dillian Whyte is the type of opponent you need to beat Tyson Fury and has all those qualities. He can hit hard, he has cardio for days, he has the will and the belief in himself,” Haye said.
“I think Whyte will take the excitement off. I think this is his chance. I think that’s what he was waiting for. This came at the right time for him and I think the fact that Tyson Fury is held in such high esteem by everyone works in Dillian’s favour. So I’m going with the unpopular underdog.”
BT Sport’s Carl Frampton came close to picking Whyte to anger the Gypsy King and also tipped the former kickboxer to harass Fury on Saturday night.
“He has more than one puncher chance, I find it a bit disrespectful to say that.”
-Carl Frampton
“Dillian Whyte is a good fighter,” he said.
“A really believable opponent for a fight of this magnitude; he is a good fighter. And he can hit, good left hook, good jab, hard too.
“I think if you build a fighter for [challenging] Tyson Fury, you would build something close to Dillian Whyte. A smaller, stocky guy, aggressive, a bit wild whore. I think that’s Dillian Whyte, isn’t it? He has more than one puncher chance, I find it a bit disrespectful to say that.
“He has heaps of determination and probably a little bit of chip on his shoulder because people think this is going to be an easy fight.”
Even Frank Warren, the Hall of Famer promoter behind Fury’s return to heavyweight dominance, hinted at Whyte’s potential to make it a difficult night for the champion.
During his exclusive fight week column on BTSport.com, Warren explained, “I can’t see Dillian outboxing Tyson.
“I think what he needs to do to win is take the fight and do what Wilder did in the early stages of that third fight. If he does, you’re going to have a smashing fight.
“He’s not going to be left behind, Dillian, because he doesn’t know how to fight that way and he’s not going to change his style too much at this stage in his career, that’s for sure.”
Whyte’s refusal to take a step back in both life and boxing may have worked to his detriment at times in recent years.
But he believes that here, this week, at this point in his life, the new world champion will emerge.
“A soldier goes to war and does what he has to do,” he said.
“He shows up, he takes his gun, he gets his orders, he goes out and executes. When he comes back, he comes back. If he doesn’t come back, he won’t come back. That’s my way of thinking.
“A lion does not hunt because he is hungry, a lion hunts because he knows what to do.”
For more information on booking this must-attend event, click here to read our comprehensive viewing guide.
Comments are closed.