By Tim Royner: Dillian Whyte is still slowly training in Portugal for his postponed fight against Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KOs). With Povetkin ahead of him, Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) is already looking at the other heavyweights in the division, to sum up his threats.
IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) is one of the names that Whyte is interested in facing, especially if he takes the WBC title from Tyson Fury.
With Whyte being the WBC mandatory, he’s guaranteed a title shot in 2021. However, Whyte needs to do his job against Povetkin; otherwise, he’ll start all over again in working his way to a title shot.
Whyte lost to Joshua by a 7th round stoppage in 2015, but he still feels he’s vulnerable and can be beaten.
Whyte breaks down Joshua’s flaws
“I’m a few kilos lighter,” said Whyte said to Matchroom Boxing when asked what his weight is compared to his previous fight last December. “Povetkin is very experienced. I think he’s one of the most technically sound fighters I’ve fought, even though he’s a bit older now. He’s Russian, and he’s an Olympic boxer [in the past], which will make him physically and mentally tough.
“Joshua is vulnerable to getting hit on the right side of his head,” said Whyte in explaining his theory on how to hurt Joshua. “It’s the same punch he got here with against Andy Ruiz.
“A punch on the right side of his head. When you hit him on the right side of his head, he goes over. It could be an equilibrium problem or whatever. Some of the people around him might have gassed him up because I don’t know why he came into the [first] fight with Andy Ruiz so big.
“He [Joshua] came into the fight like ‘this is a walkover job. I’m going to finish him off and go home. In the second fight, Joshua did exactly what he should have done is outbox him and beat him up,” said Whyte.
Joshua, 29, isn’t easy to hit on the right side of his head since his loss to Andy Ruiz a year ago. AJ has adopted a new highly defensive style of fighting, which entails him staying on the outside, jabbing and moving. It won’t be easy for any heavyweight to land big shots on Joshua like before.
Ruiz has NO chance in a third fight with Joshua
“Ruiz keeps asking for a third fight, but he has no chance,” Whyte said of Ruiz having little chance of beating Joshua in a trilogy match. “I think Andy Ruiz might be another Buster Douglas. Shine once, and then that’s it. The lifestyle that he’s enjoyed because let’s be honest, we offered him $5 million to fight me in America in his hometown.
“He’s turning down that kind of money to fight me. He took that for Anthony Joshua, so he should take that to fight me easy. That’s what he got paid to fight Joshua the first time for the world title. You just lost, and you’re getting paid a lot of money to fight in America,” said Whyte.
“I said I’d come to America and fight, but if you don’t want to take it, then [forget it]. These guys say a lot of things about me, but they know I’m an old school dog. I’ll come to fight. I don’t play no games,” said Whyte.
You can’t rule out a victory for Ruiz in the third match against Joshua. If Ruiz is in shape, and if he moves quickly to cut off the ring on Joshua, he’s got a chance for an upset.
With that said, it’s not going to be easy for Ruiz to get a third match against AJ. He’s got a lot of other fights ahead of him against Kubrat Pulev, Oleksandr Usyk, and Tyson Fury.
In addition, Ruiz needs to win his fights against whoever, and get pushed up the rankings. Joshua likely won’t face Ruiz if he doesn’t get a significant win under his belt to redeem himself.
Whyte ANGRY at Ruiz for turning down $5 million
“They say he wants to fight Luis Ortiz, but I don’t get it. You got offered $5 million to fight me,” said Whyte of Ruiz, turning down a big offer to face him. “You’re going to fight Luis Ortiz for $200,000. It makes no sense.
“You say you can beat me; you think you can beat me, then why are you going to fight Luis Ortiz. To him, it’s a harder fight than me. Luis Ortiz is a great fighter, but what Cuban National Championships have he won?
“No one heard of him as an amateur. All the great Cuban fighters, we’ve heard of them. We know what they’ve achieved. Luis Ortiz was never the top five in Cuba at any time. I think he won one National tournament.
“When you first signed me, I told you I want to fight Luis Ortiz. I’ve been trying to fight Luis Ortiz for a long time. They said this guy was dangerous. He’s a big southpaw, and he’s a bit tricky, but what else is there?
“He knocked out Bryant Jennings and the Argentinean guy [Matias Ariel Vidondo]. Those are the only two guys on his record,” said Whyte of Ortiz.
The logic behind Ruiz Jr. turning down a fight with Whyte is simple. Even though Ruiz will make less against weaker opposition, he’ll increase his chances of winning tenfold. It’s important that Ruiz starts winning again because Joshua may give him a third fight if he picks up two or three victories over top contenders.
Oleksandr Usyk loses to Chisora if he’s motivated
“I don’t think so,” said Whyte when asked of Oleksandr Usyk can become a world champion at heavyweight. “Actually, he can. With good management and the right fights, he can. But right now, I don’t think he’s physically strong enough to beat any of the champions.
“He’s got the skills and the boxing technique, but I don’t think he’s physically strong enough or big enough. You’re not going to out-move Anthony Joshua, Whyte, and Tyson Fury for 12 rounds.
“We will catch up to you at some point, and we will land at some point. It’s a risky fight,” said Whyte when asked if Usyk is taking a risk in facing Dereck Chisora. “But if you look at the heavyweight division to see what’s happened with Chisora, he’s very temperamental.
“So if you think, fight Anthony Joshua, fight Dillian Whyte and fight Tyson Fury, you know Dereck Chisora. If he’s not motivated, he can come and stink the place up. But if Dereck is motivated and comes to fight, he’s a danger for anyone,” said Whyte.
Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs) has an excellent shot at beating Usyk if he’s in shape, and highly motivated. If Chisora can’t get motivated for a clash against Usyk, then he needs to pack it in.
There’s so much for Chisora to gain by fighting Usyk, and there’s also a lot for him lose. A victory for Chisora, 36, will put him in the driver’s seat to face Joshua in 2021 as his WBO mandatory.
Chisora is dangerous
“The man is physically strong,” Whyte said of Chisora. “The one thing I like about Dereck is there’s something about him that makes him dangerous. He doesn’t care about win, lose, or draw. He’s got ten losses on his record, and he’s still a top 10 heavyweight.
“There’s something about him [Chisora], whether it’s mental toughness, physical toughness, and I believe if he’s motivated, he knocks Usyk out. The two fights I had with him, keeping Dereck at bay, was no easy job.
“We were the same weight. I’m a naturally big guy, but Usyk is not [big]. He’s [Usyk] got movement and athleticism, but Dereck’s a basic guy. He’ll slug it out. We’ve seen him do it time and time again in a fight. The fights with Dereck were hard fights.
“With Dereck, you can’t engage with him because the harder you hit him, he just keeps coming back. When you stay close and hit him hard, he just comes back. He’s got reflexes.
“But in the second fight, I broke him down and boxed. In the first fight, I fought, but in the second fight, I boxed him a bit, held him a bit, fight him a bit and hold him a bit,” said Whyte of Chisora.
Right now, Chisora is hungry, and he understands what’s at stake against Usyk. If he wins this fight, it’s all gravy from here on out. It doesn’t matter if Chisora loses to Joshua. Just getting that fight will be like winning the lottery for Chisora.