After an explosive autumn, we are now in something of a lull as far as heavyweight boxing is concerned. Tyson Fury’s victory over Deontay Wilder in the pair’s third bout has cemented the Gypsy King’s status as the kind of the heavyweight division, whilst Anthony Joshua’s defeat to Olekasndr Usyk is proof the Ukrainian is a new force to be reckoned with.
Joshua and Usyk are set to contest a rematch at some stage in 2022, leaving Fury in a position where he’ll likely have to take on WBC mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte. Whilst it might not necessarily be the blockbuster bout many crave for Fury, it would be an intriguing all-British clash that would garner plenty of interest in the UK.
Whyte was due to take on Otto Wallin back in October but sustained a shoulder injury which meant he couldn’t fight. His last outing was the rematch against Alexander Povetkin back in March, which Whyte won by TKO in just the fourth round, having been knocked out himself in the fifth round by the same opponent six months previously. It was an impressive feat to get the better of Povetkin after losing to him before, and now you can’t blame Whyte for having his sights set on the title.
There’s no doubt that Fury would be the massive favourite in the boxing betting odds were he to go head-to-head with Whyte, but would the former interim champion have any chance against the might of the undefeated Fury?
For one, Whyte will go in with plenty of confidence. It takes real courage to recover from a heavy defeat like the one he suffered against Povetkin and turn things around, but Whyte showed his mettle to get a morale-boosting victory. That will give him the belief needed to take on one of the big guns, and they don’t come much bigger than Fury.
Whyte is also hugely experienced. At 33 years of age, he has 30 professional fights to his name, which is just two fewer than Fury, and has taken on some big names in his time. If he gets the chance to go up against the Gypsy King, you can bet that he’ll have a clear gameplan in place to try and get the better of Fury.
Of course, the boxing community is rubbing their hands in anticipation of seeing the winner of the Joshua vs Usyk rematch go up against Fury, but Whyte will fancy his chances of throwing a spanner in the works, much like Usyk himself did by defeating Joshua in the first place. Indeed, the ‘Body Snatcher’ will have watched the blows dealt to Fury by Wilder and may think he has a chance of unsettling him if he can get his tactics right.
You wouldn’t expect Fury to let his standards slip, and it would be one of the sport’s biggest ever upsets if Whyte were to somehow pull it off, but the wonderful thing about sport is you just never know. Fury is a formidable opponent, but the spoils for the man who finally stops him will be massive.
-
-
-
-
