BOXING throws its first real haymaker of the Covid-19 lockdown era on Saturday night. Sky Sports returns for the fourth instalment of fights from Eddie Hearn’s back garden, with a Box Office card that will likely have huge implications on the rest of 2020.
Should sports fans show an appetite for pay-per-view fights, when Dillian Whyte defends his WBC #1 ranking against Russian Alexander Povetkin, then it is more likely we will see heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury return before the year is out.
Whether Whyte, who has been mandatory challenger for over 1,000 days with the WBC, will feature against either is highly unlikely, however, which makes the fight against Povetkin all the more dangerous: High risk, no reward.
This will be Whyte’s 12th fight in five years following his sole career defeat to Anthony Joshua back in 2015. His relentless campaign for a fresh world title shot feels no closer now than it did in the immediate aftermath of that seventh-round stoppage loss to AJ.
Straight talking Whyte @DillianWhyte has never been afraid to tell it how it is… Here are some of our favourite straight talking moments from 'The Body Snatcher'
Whyte v Povetkin – 7pm, Saturday, Sky Sports Box Office pic.twitter.com/PG2xOKBDAk
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 20, 2020
WBC world champion Fury is contracted to face former champ Deontay Wilder for a third time – tentatively scheduled for December in Las Vegas. While AJ has a mandatory challenger in Kubrat Pulev to get out of the way, likely around the same time. However, neither fight will happen without PPV revenue, or perhaps even, bums on seats.
And, frustratingly for Whyte, should both champions defend their belts the clamour to see the biggest fight in the history of British boxing – a world heavyweight title unification between AJ and Fury – will be irrepressible. Whyte simply doesn’t fit into the immediate narrative.
To have any chance of pressing his claim the 32-year-old must look hugely impressive against Povetkin on Saturday night, a feat far easier to write than it is to produce. A former WBA world champion, his two career defeats arrived in world title opportunities of his own, against Wladimir Klitschko in 2013 (points) and AJ in 2018 (TKO 7).
Recent performances from both suggest we are in for a gritty 12-round affair and with the fight being held literally at Matchroom HQ it’s hard to see anything other than a points victory for Whyte (6/4). But that is unlikely to tell the full story of the fight.
Both can be hurt and outboxed. Yet both men have proved in the past that when faced with adversity they come out swinging, which means an explosive stopped amidst an edge of the seat fire fight could also play out (Whyte to win by KO, TKO or DQ – 13/10, Povetkin to win by KO, TKO, or DQ – 6/1). And that’s what Whyte needs.
To have any chance of gaining public support towards a potential Fury chance, or AJ rematch for that matter, Whyte has got to come out swinging against the 40-year-old, and with a third of his career KOs coming in Round 3, that looks like the best of the early three minutes to pick (Whyte to win in Round 3 – 25/1).
As for Povetkin, while he will have very few supporters in the dozens in attendance, he’s as durable as they come and experienced enough to know opportunities come to those who wait. He can set a pace and Whyte has a history of blowing – he was out on his feet and saved by the final bell against Joe Parker – and a late stoppage in rounds 10-12 would throw the ‘home’ cards out the window (Potevkin to win Rounds 10-12 – 25/1).
Bout odds: Whyte (1/4) Draw (22/1) Povetkin (14/5)
