Whyte reluctant to change ahead of Povetkin rematch
The British heavyweight is back in Portugal and chomping at the bit for revenge.
“I ain’t playing – we want this rematch straight away,” Dillian Whyte has told iFL TV from the comfort of his Portuguese training camp. Fresh off a devastating KO loss to Alexander Povetkin just over a week ago, the British heavyweight contender is looking to bounce back with immediate effect.
Having spent the majority of 2020 in Portugal, Whyte (27-2, 18 KO) is ready and raring to go once again. He’s already back in training, once a week, looking to ramp things up over the following month.
“I was a bit devastated, but I was alright,” he continued candidly to Kugan Cassius. “It was just one of those fights. I didn’t get beat up or anything, I didn’t get out-boxed, I didn’t get manhandled or nothing, I just got caught with a peach of a punch. I made a mistake.”
Whyte would go onto to describe how he perceived the contest, alluding to how “easy” he found Povetkin in the early stages of the fight, with him becoming too “relaxed” the catalyst for the knockout he suffered in the fifth round.
“It was all good, easy and I think I just got a bit too relaxed. I probably should have finished it in the fourth round,” Whyte continued.
The 32-year-old would then go on to explain how his loss to Anthony Joshua in 2015 affected him a lot more than this loss at the Fight Camp finale. Whyte understood the changes he needed to make after his stoppage loss to “AJ,” but sees minimal comparison to the situation he is in now, claiming “staying switched on” is the only alteration he needs to make heading into the expected rematch.
“This fight I haven’t got to change nothing. I’ve shown I can be winning these fights and dominate these guys. I’ve shown I can knock down an Olympic gold medalist. But, if you get clocked, you get clocked.”
Whyte takes comfort in comparing his loss to the defeats suffered by Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua over the past 15 months. Unlike his heavyweight peers, Whyte believes that he wasn’t dominated and broken down in the fight – something easier to bounce back from quickly.
“Two or three minor adjustments I need to make,” Whyte then backtracked. “I’ll be in better shape, and I need to stay switched on.”
Whyte’s positivity is admirable. He’s always had a fairly level-headed understanding of his role as a fighter in the sport and is unwilling to dwell on this defeat longer than required.
Still, as the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Sure, Whyte is OK to take minimal comfort in the rounds that preceded the knockout, but fundamentally, his defensive deficiencies have seen him taste the canvas in three of his last five fights.
Immediate rematches come with real danger in the heavyweight division. Until Whyte touches gloves again with the man who iced him cold a few months prior, it’s impossible to tell how his body and brain will react. Povetkin will expect to land that exact same punch again if Whyte is unable and unwilling to make necessary adjustments.
“The conversation is, let’s go. Round 2. Same attitude; same maximum violence; the same everything,” Whyte exclaimed.
Well, everything bar the result, you’d assume.