We should expect to witness an all-new Dillian Whyte on March 27 when he finally gets his rematch against Alexander Povetkin, according to Whyte's new co-trainer Harold 'Shadow' Knight.
Whyte has made some changes following the August 2020 loss to Povetkin, during which he dominated the Russian veteran for four rounds and scored two knockdowns before having his lights switched off from out of nowhere by a tremendous uppercut in the fifth.
COVID-19 and its effect on rules and restrictions have seen the Londoner's contracted rematch postponed in November, January and early March. It will now take place at the end of the month in Gilbraltar, live on DAZN in many parts of the world.
And Knight told MyBettingSites.co.uk that Whyte is working on changing his approach in a similar fashion to how Tyson Fury went from surviving a huge knockdown and drawing with Deontay Wilder to comfortably handing the American his first loss in the rematch.
“It will be similar to Fury's performance [in the rematch]," said Knight. "In that similar direction. Sugar Hill changed the whole game plan against Wilder.
"They did not expect Fury to do what he did. It was a complete overhaul and they changed his way of thinking and he did it by having fun.
"Tyson seemed like he was having fun up in here. It’s more than throwing the punches, it’s the psychological part of it. I’m not going to give the game plan away but it’s not going to be the same Dillian that you saw in August 2020."
History certainly suggests that Whyte picked the right man to help guide him in a return bout.
“I’m undefeated when it comes to rematches," continued Knight. "I'm 2 and 0 when my guy got knocked out and we came back in the rematch and knocked them out, Lennox and Oliver McCall and Lennox and Hasim Rahman, so I look to go 3 and 0.
"We’re not going to make the same mistakes against Povetkin and Dillian’s going to use his IQ. We’re going to harness what Dillian likes to do and adjust and modify.”
Knight also drew some comparisons between Dillian and Lennox, though if Whyte wants to follow in Lewis' footsteps and become a world heavyweight champion, nothing but a decisive victory against Povetkin on Mar. 27 will suffice.
“Without a doubt Dillian's mindset reminds me of Lennox's when he avenged the defeats," noted Knight. "Povetkin threw a shot and it landed and knocked Dillian out. The mindset of Dillian was the same of Lennox’s when he got knocked out.
"They both said: ‘He caught me, I take nothing away, give them credit’. That’s one thing I admire about Lennox and that I admire about Dillian - they didn’t blame it on the gloves, or a heavy suit, or there was something put in the water, they both said they caught me with a good shot, they accepted they made a mistake.
"The greatness of a fighter, that Dillian is going to show, is how you come back from a loss.”