I’m still coming down from the unbelievable Leigh Wood vs. Michael Conlan battle last weekend. What a fight. What a finish. What an occasion.
If a fight this year contains more drama than that then I’ll be very surprised, but one fighter might have something to say about it is Dillian Whyte.
He’s no stranger to exciting fights and next month could see him in the most dramatic one of all.
Finally, Whyte gets his chance to become world champion when he faces Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium. It’s the contest Whyte has wanted for many years, and he must give this opportunity everything and not cut any corners.
That’s the big reason why I think he’s just knuckling down in camp and not playing any part in the pre-fight build-up.
If you look back on my career, you’ll see I was no stranger to having a crazy time at press conferences. Nathan Cleverly, Adonis Stevenson, and David Haye were standout fights in my career, and the events to hype those fights were incident packed.
This was an environment where I thrived, and I used the opportunity to try and get the first shot on my upcoming opponent. Dillian is taking a different approach than mine.
If there was ever a time when I was fighting where I thought not turning up at a press conference would've provided me with a huge advantage, I possibly would've considered it. That scenario is hard to image because I loved the entire build-up to a fight, but Dillian is different from me. He’s a smart man, and he’ll be fully aware of what he’s doing and why he’s doing it.
If he’s not contractually obligated to be at any of the events ahead of the fight, and he thinks not being there might get in Fury’s head, he’s right to try it.
Whether it works is an altogether different issue, but Whyte is doing what he wants and that means he’s in control. There must be some frustration from those putting on the event, but Whyte will be there on fight week and that’s all that matters to him.
In Whyte’s head, all he’s thinking about is the fight and getting in the ring on April 23rd. He’s not the promoter’s fighter, he’s not BT Sport’s fighter, and he’s made it clear he’s not happy with the split.
All Dillian is focused on is fighting and that’s why I believe he’s not got going to allow any distractions to get in his way ahead of the biggest challenge of his life.
If that’s how he wants to approach the fight to give him the best chance of winning, then people should respect it. It might be his only shot.
Ortiz vs. McKinson postponement: bad news for both fighters
It was disappointing to hear about Vergil Ortiz being hospitalised this week. His fight with Michael McKinson was one I was looking forward to so it’s a big shame that neither man will be able to test themselves against the other. McKinson stays busy on the card, but I do hope that this fight can be rearranged, and I wish Ortiz all the very best in his recovery.