Tyson Fury Vs. Dillian Whyte Preview: Can the Body Snatcher Ruin the Homecoming of The Gypsy King?

By Peter Silkov

Writer for The Boxing Glove 

When Tyson Fury defends his WBC world heavyweight championship against Dillian Whyte, on April 23rd, at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium, it will be the biggest heavyweight fight in Britain since the classic match between Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno almost 29 years ago. (Ironically, that clash was also for the WBC world heavyweight championship). Having two British fighters facing each other for boxing's biggest prize is an occasion that many British fight fans could only dream about in the not-too-distant past. Indeed, it is a rarity that has only occurred between Bruno and Lewis in modern boxing history. Despite the fact that Britain has found itself, over the past half-decade, in the almost surreal position of being home to the vast majority of the world's top heavyweights. This unlikely domination has seen a portion of the fractured world heavyweight crown being held by either Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua since 2015. For a brief time, both Fury and Joshua held all the major world championship belts between them at the same time, and a showdown between the two for the right to be the undisputed champion of the world seemed tantalizingly close. Undoubtedly, if the boxing world wasn't so riven with a mixture of political, financial, and egotistical maneuverings, Britain’s boxing fans would already have seen a colossal match for the undisputed heavyweight crown between two British fighters long before the upcoming April 23rd clash between Fury and Whyte. Arguments inevitably rage on both sides as to who is most at fault for Fury Vs. Joshua not materializing, (hereafter all was a fight which could have been the biggest sports event ever in Britain). Ultimately Joshua's defeat to Alexandra Usyk last year scuppered any plans for a showdown with Fury in the foreseeable future. There seems to be more than a likelihood that the long-anticipated clash will never take place, especially with Fury’s recent statements that the match with Whyte will be his last professional boxing fight.

So we are left with Fury vs. Whyte rather than Fury vs. Joshua, not what was expected or hoped for by many, but a fight that isn’t without the interesting intangibility that may well serve to make it an exciting match.

The fight has already seen a somewhat curious build-up due to Dillian Whyte's bizarre behaviour. Whyte has seemingly taken grave offense at only being given a 20% cut of the fight purse, despite that 20% adding up to be the largest purse of his career (6mil) by a significant way.

In a prolonged hissy fit, more worthy of a Hollywood diva than a professional boxer, Whyte left it until almost the final hour before signing the fight contracts, yet even since signing the contracts, he has continued to complain and seemingly do as much as he could to disrupt the fight. Whyte has continued to rage at almost everything to do with the fight's promotion and has taken the extraordinary step of refusing to take part in the promotional press conferences, which are always part of the run-up to such big fights.

It is an extraordinary situation to have the challenger for the world heavyweight championship refusing to participate in the pre-fight conferences, even to the extent of asking for his image to be removed from the fight's posters!

Is Dillian's behavior simply a rather long and self-indulgent temper tantrum, or is there some kind of method or theory behind his rather childish 'madness'?

Whyte's long time promoter Eddie Hearn has claimed that the 'The Bodysnatcher's behavior, while born out of genuine displeasure at his share of the spoils of the fight, is also at least partly aimed at getting under the champion Tyson Fury's skin and upsetting his mental balance in the run-up to the fight.

However, this seems to be a good exercise of whistling in the wind by Eddie (who seems unable to stop talking about a fight which he claims he is relieved not to be promoting). Indeed, if you can believe that Eddie Hearn is happy not to be playing any part in the biggest heavyweight fight in a British ring this century, then you probably also believe in the tooth fairy and the world is flat.

The truth is that Tyson Fury, after overcoming his widely-known mental health issues in the past, seems to have built up immunity to the various mind games and outside-the-ring intrigues of his fistic opponents. After withstanding the outrageous (and at times libelous) boasts, claims, and insults of Deontay Wilder throughout their now-classic trilogy, it is difficult to envisage Fury being mentally wrong-footed by Dillian Whyte's childish and unprofessional antics. All the indications so far are that Fury is more amused than disturbed by Whyte's own little personal drama show.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, with Dillian becoming 'the invisible challenger' due to his absence from the pre-fight pressers, the promotion of Fury vs. Whyte has become the Tyson Fury show, something which, in all honesty, it was always destined to be.

However, this has done little to dampen the eagerness of the fans to fill Wembley stadium to its full capacity, to witness the 'Gypsy King's homecoming live (the fight will now be watched by a crowd of 94,000, after selling its original allocation of 85,000 tickets in just 3 hours!)

The truth is that Whyte may well have shot himself in the foot with his constant protests and boycott of the press conferences. Despite his high standing in the WBC rankings and popularity on Eddie Hearn's shows, Dillian’s image and status in the wider boxing world remain several levels below Fury's. Whyte remains relatively unknown outside of the UK, while Tyson Fury is now a huge boxing star worldwide.

This fight was Whyte's chance to boost his standing considerably, win or lose, and by deciding not to take part in the fight's promotional machine, Whyte runs the risk of making himself just an afterthought in the fight unless he was to pull off a huge upset and defeat Fury. One does have to wonder about Whyte's state of mind and how confident he is in reality about being able to win the world title. Has Whyte's focus been too much on protesting the terms of his contract rather than concentrating on getting ready to beat Fury inside the ring? Whyte did previously turn down a rematch with Anthony Joshua for the world title at stake back in 2019 due to the purse of 3 million not being enough, with the chance instead falling into the generous lap of Andy Ruiz, and we all know what happened next! Whyte may have lost the best chance he will ever get of being world heavyweight champion on that night.

Of course, if Whyte was to upset Fury, his eccentric antics in the build-up to the match would be hailed as a masterstroke. But does Whyte have any chance of pulling off the upset?

Judging by the formbook, the answer seems to be a resounding, no.
Fury is a faster, stronger, and far more adaptable boxer than Dillian. After being known primarily for his elusive boxing skills earlier in his career, Tyson has shown in recent years that he can also stand his ground and go toe-to-toe with opponents and has dispelled doubts about his ability to punch his weight. In his trilogy with Deontay Wilder, the Gypsy King displayed his versatility by first out-boxing, then out-slugging 'The Bronze Bomber.'

Dillian Whyte, on the other hand, is a bit of a plodder. He is a flat-footed fighter who relies more on his brute strength than his boxing skills to win fights. One comparison which can be drawn between Whyte and Fury is their respective matches against Derek Chisora. Both have fought Chisora twice, but while Fury emerged victorious twice with relative ease, Dillian had to wade through two toe-to-toe slugfests before grabbing a debatable point's decision in their first match, followed by a last gasp knockout win in their rematch. Styles make fights, of course, but Whyte and Fury's respective encounters against Chisora can also be seen as a clue to the difference in levels between Tyson and Dillian. The Gypsy King seems clear to be a level above Whyte.

In truth, Whyte is lucky even to be having this shot at the world title after being knocked out in 5 rounds by the somewhat ancient Alexander Povetkin in his last but one outing. Although Dillian gained revenge in a rematch some five months later, this victory was somewhat tarnished by the aging Povetkin entering the fight after only recently recovering from Covid. Indeed, Whyte has only fought four times since 2019 and has not been overly impressive in his most recent outings. Before his shock knockout defeat to Alexander Povetkin on August 22nd, 2020, Whyte had been unimpressive in a 10-round point win over Mariusz Wach, eight-month earlier.

Photo: Dailymail Uk

Although Whyte avenged his sudden, one-punch knockout by Povetkin in their rematch seven months later, the Povetkin he faced in their second fight was a visibly much more faded version of Povetkin, with the muted ‘action’ ending in the 4th round after Povetkin was stopped following a knockdown. Although Whyte gained the victory, it was a difficult fight with which to gauge Whyte's form and judge whether the knockout to Povetkin had left any lasting mark. Indeed, Povetkin had looked as if a strong gust of wind would have knocked him down in this match.

Whyte has not fought since, meaning that when he enters the ring against Fury on April 23rd, (hopefully) it will be his first match in over a year. Certainly not ideal preparation for the biggest fight of your life.

Photo:The Mirror

Yet, as always, in heavyweight boxing, one punch can change everything, and Dillian certainly has the power to spring an upset if Tyson goes into this fight with the wrong attitude. Whyte's best chance of victory is if Fury has entered this match in the wrong frame of mind and is either unmotivated or taking Whyte for granted. This is possible when you have a fighter who is openly talking about retiring as Fury has been in recent weeks. Tyson has talked about retiring numerous times during his career and at one point walked away from the sport when his mental health and addiction problems overwhelmed him. Yet this regular talk of retirement seems to be a method Fury uses to psyche himself up and get himself more motivated for his matches, approaching each one with the attitude that it is his last. This seems to be borne out by the fact that for all his talk of retirement outside the ring, Tyson genuinely enjoys fighting. This was illustrated by Fury at one point exclaiming "I love this" during his match with Otto Wallin when he battled to victory despite a horrendously cut right eye. It was also on display during his three matches with Deontay Wilder when Fury seemed to relish the moments when Wilder had him hurt and coming back from the knockdowns which he suffered in the first and third fights. Indeed, heading into this defense against Whyte, it seems that Tyson is the fighter with the better form. Tyson will be having his second fight in 5 months, and the 3rd fight with Wilder will have taken off the rust that he collected during his most recent run of inactivity.

If the faded Povetkin at 41 can knock out Whyte, then the chances are that the Tyson Fury, who in recent years has begun to punch his weight, can stop Whyte as well.

Whyte has also shown a tendency to tire in the later rounds of fights, while Fury, despite his size, always seems to have good stamina going into later rounds of fights.

This is an intriguing fight and promises to be exciting whatever the outcome. Tyson Fury certainly doesn’t do dull, as he seems to have picked up the habit of providing fans with something dramatic in every fight recently.

Fury may box more in this match than he did in the second and third Wilder fights. Indeed Fury's reflexes and defense showed the rust of over two years of inactivity and preparation, which had been interrupted by a battle with covid and his newborn daughter's illness.

When he faces Whyte, 'The Gypsy King' is likely to be sharper and faster than he was in the final fight with Wilder, and he may well choose to give Whyte a boxing lesson in the early rounds before taking the fight to Wilder more in the later rounds.

Look for Tyson to win this match in an impressive fashion, in around 7 to 9 rounds. This is The Gypsy King's homecoming (and possibly even his final fight), in front of a record-breaking crowd, and he will be determined to win with an emphatic victory.

However, you can never dismiss a heavyweight with a decent punch, and Whyte is likely to have his moments in this fight, especially if Fury chooses to take the fight to Dillian early on. Fury will need to be sharp to stay away from Whyte's left hook and dangerous right hand, but if Tyson decides to box early he will most likely give Whyte a boxing lesson. Eventually, Fury's extra speed and strength will see him take over and wear down Whyte, and then we will see him start to pile on the pressure until the end comes with Whyte either counted out or stopped exhausted on his feet after about 7 to 9 rounds.

Whyte is likely about to find out that it will take more than some off-the-wall protests and a promotional strike to push Tyson Fury off his game plan. Fury has shown through his trilogy with Deontay Wilder that he has emerged from his much-publicized mental health issues and inactivity from the ring with a newfound mental strength, which will be more than enough to handle the kind of childish mind games that Dillian Whyte and his team seem to be employing. Indeed, just weeks away from fight night, Dillian's lawyer seems to be indicating that there is still a doubt over whether Whyte will take part in the fight. One wonders whether Whyte wants to fight for the world heavyweight championship at all; if he does, he has a very strange way of showing it at the moment.

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