BEVERLY HILLS, March 28, (THEWILL) – In the rematch of the heavyweight division on Saturday night’s card, Dillian Whyte put up an inspired performance of redemption to deal vengeance against Alexander Povetkin in Gibraltar when he dropped the Russian in the fourth round to regain the interim WBC heavyweight title.
In August last year, Whyte floored Povetkin twice in the fourth round but, the Russian recovered enough to deal the Brit with a devastating one-punch knockout blow in the fifth that took Whyte out cold and landed him on the canvas to give victory and the title to Povetkin, bringing a temporal and to Whyte’s ambitions for a fight for other heavyweight titles in the division.
On Saturday, however, Whyte cashed in on an early sign of feebleness in Povetkin’s stance to go against the Russian from the get-go. For some unfathomable reason, Povetkin did not come across as the same boxer who beat Whyte in their previous bout. His shaky legs stumbled from the first round on. Even when he was evading Whyte’s marauding blows, he never quite had his legs under him to stand against Whyte’s attacks.
From the first bell to when the fight was called in his favour, Whyte was a boxer on a mission. He had Povetkin on the brink of a knockout at every point of their second heavyweight battle and closed the show dramatically, returning the favour after that initial loss.
Even in the first round Povetkin was already bloodied and unstable by the time Whyte clubbed him with a right hand. At the start of the second round, Povetkin’s attempt to respectfully touch gloves was ignored by Whyte who rammed home a straight right hand that left a mark of swelling immediately. Yet, Whyte knew that just as important as his accurate assault was his defensive ability to evade Povetkin’s dangerous left hook.
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The Brit admitted that he had to caution himself in the early stages to not take his advantage for granted and let his guard down. In post-match comments, he said: “I was, like, ‘Let me relax’. He’s an Olympic gold medalist. He’s only lost to me, Joshua, and Klitschko. It shows how good he is, and he’s very strong still.”
The Brit pounced in the fourth with a combination of shots that he pounded Povetkin with as the Russian’s resistance was finally broken 30 seconds from the end of the round, when Whyte finished him off with his trademark left hook that flattened the Russian and ended the fight as a contest. Povetkin was trying to get up when the referee, Victor Loughlin, stopped the fight just as the Russian’s corner threw in the towel to concede.
There may be some currency in the thought that a very hard bout of COVID-19 had something to do with Povetkin’s demeanour and stability during the fight without taking anything from the manner in which Whyte handled his business on the night. Suggestions as to something being off with Povetkin began with his looks on Friday during the weighing of both boxers. However, he passed the medicals and considered himself fit to fight.
Given all the talk about how physically fit Povetkin was after only recovering from the virus, Whyte said. “If he wants a rematch and they offer me the right money, I’ll fight him again. I shouldn’t have lost the first time. I’m annoyed at myself for losing the first time. I just had to be a bit smarter, that’s all.”
Whyte demonstrated he was ready with a fight that balanced destruction and discipline and has now propelled another Brit back near the front of the row of contenders in the division where Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are set to decide the undisputed champion in a long-anticipated bout.
The world title dreams Whyte had harboured for himself would have been toast is he had lost the rematch with his status as WBC mandatory challenger after his previous 1,000-day wait crushed to dust when he was knocked out by Povetkin. But, Whyte’s victory brings him into contention in the heavyweight division again, just as he wants to be.
“I can be a world champion, I can beat anyone. The rescheduling messed me up, but I was in much better shape this time. He had to pay tonight, man.” And, he had earned his right to boast.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
