Dillian Whyte had dreams of securing a world title fight with the leading names at heavyweight before running into the powerful fists of Alexander Povetkin last summer. Long positioned at the business end of the WBC rankings, Whyte’s name was consistently linked to Deontay Wilder, who had a lengthy reign as that governing body’s world champion. Could it now become a fight without any belts involved?
Wilder has been largely anonymous since losing his crown to Tyson Fury in February 2020. With no fight on the horizon for the hard-hitting American, could a fight with Whyte be the bout that gets people talking about him again? Former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch likes the idea.
“I would love to see Whyte fight Wilder,” Froch told Sky Sports. “I think he can beat Wilder but it’s such a dangerous fight for Whyte. He’s in a tough position because he lost that fight with Povetkin and now he’s no longer mandatory challenger.
Let’s see how he gets on against Povetkin. I think he wins then looks at what options he’s got before he jumps in with Wilder. If he fancies it and he’s confident, get in there, because that would be a big statement.”
Another fan of a potential Whyte-Wilder showdown is Eddie Hearn. Whyte’s promoter has long pursued a fight with Wilder for a number of his heavyweights and he holds a high opinion regarding what could occur if the two eventually met.
“Wilder against Whyte is a stunning fight,” beamed Hearn to Sky Sports. “I’ve been trying to make that fight for years. I think once Whyte can beat Povetkin, we can look at those kind of fights with more confidence. First things first, everything is on the line.”
Povetkin vs. Whyte 2 can be seen in multiple regions on DAZN. Subscribe here.