This is Rummy’s Corner.
Coming up on April 23rd at Wembley Stadium, in a bout that will be televised in the US
on ESPN+ PPV, Tyson Fury will defend the lineal heavyweight championship along with his WBC
belt against Dillian Whyte.
Both Fury and Whyte have boxed twice since the beginning of 2020.
Since then, Whyte had a pair of matches against Alexander Povetkin and Fury had a pair of
fights against Deontay Wilder to close out their thoroughly entertaining trilogy.
This all started back in February 2020 when Fury dominated Wilder in their long awaited
rematch.
Fury surprised the champion by making him fight off the back foot.
Fury dropped Wilder in round 3, and he dropped him again in round 5, and the fight was ultimately
stopped by Wilder’s corner in round 7.
Whyte and Povetkin battled it out for the first time in August 2020.
Whyte dropped Povetkin twice in round 4, where he appeared to be in complete control of the
action.
Whyte looked to build on this momentum, but Povetkin launched a missile of an uppercut
that leveled The Body Snatcher in round 5.
Those two had a rematch in March of last year, but this time Whyte seized command early and
never looked back.
Whyte dropped him in round 4.
Povetkin beat the count, but he was very wobbly and the referee stopped the fight just as
Povetkin’s corner threw in the towel.
In October of last year, Fury and Wilder squared off for the 3rd time and it was a wild one.
Fury dropped Wilder in round 3, Wilder dropped Fury twice in round 4, and then Fury again
dropped Wilder in round 10, and yet again in round 11, and by this point the referee
had seen enough and he jumped in to wave it off.
Whyte is getting his first opportunity to fight for a major world title, and many observers
believe this is long overdue.
Whyte has been a fixture inside the Top 10 for a number of years now, and he has faced
a number of fellow top contenders during that stretch with mixed success.
Whyte lost against Anthony Joshua all the way back in 2015 before AJ had become a two-time
unified champion.
Dillian’s most significant victory was probably when he won a unanimous decision against former
WBO champion Joseph Parker.
And then he also holds a couple of solid wins against Dereck Chisora, and a win against
the then undefeated Oscar Rivas, and also good wins against Robert Helenius and Mariusz
Wach.
And of course, he avenged his devastating knockout loss against Povetkin.
It’s not the best resume in today’s heavyweight landscape, but Whyte definitely has one of
the better ones.
The thing of it is, Whyte has a lot of wear and tear for someone who will be 34 on fight
night.
Beyond that, while Whyte has proven to be a very good heavyweight in today’s scene,
he has had his fair share of struggles against other contenders.
When I look at Dillian Whyte, I see a talented, consistent heavyweight, but I don’t know
that he’s ever exhibited that extra something special needed to succeed at the elite level.
And against Tyson Fury, he is facing the best of the best at heavyweight, and I’m not
sure that Whyte is bringing a whole lot to the table that Fury hasn’t already comfortably
dealt with.
When you look at the long and dominant reign of Wladimir Klitschko, a reign that lasted
nearly 10 years where Wladimir made 18 consecutive title defenses, having unified 3 of the big
4 alphabet belts, as well establishing a new heavyweight lineage following the retirement
of Lennox Lewis - the history books will show that Tyson Fury was the man who ended that
dominant reign.
Tyson Fury was also the man who ended the 5 year reign of the powerhouse puncher known
as Deontay Wilder, who had made 10 consecutive title defenses including the only blemish
on Fury’s record, the draw in their first encounter.
But Fury put an exclamation point on his rivalry with Wilder when he stopped him in their 2nd
and 3rd encounters, and those are easily the two most impressive heavyweight championship
victories in the last few years.
Whereas Whyte has never exhibited that extra dimension to his game that helps define heavyweight
greatness, Fury has, and he has overcome adversity in the midst of a heated battle with the highest
stakes.
Now the past doesn’t necessarily dictate the future, and the one saving grace for Whyte,
as I see it, is that Fury himself has a lot of wear and tear.
The Wilder trilogy alone was a taxing proposition, particularly in their 3rd and final match-up.
Mix in the fact that Fury is no spring chicken himself, and Fury is known to balloon up and
down in weight, and maybe, just maybe, Fury is ripe for the taking.
After all, Whyte has exhibited a lot of heart, and not just in terms of rising to his feet
after being dropped, but even in terms of coming back to avenge a devastating knockout
loss like the one he suffered at the hands of Povetkin.
I think the key for Whyte is to try and form a bit of a blueprint based on what Wilder
was trying to do early in his 3rd fight with Fury.
Wilder was having success targeting Fury’s ample midsection, and this was smart.
Fury has outstanding elusive head and upper body movement to go along with his deceptively
quick feet.
But that big body doesn’t move a whole lot when compared to his otherwise overall elusive
rhythm.
Wilder couldn’t sustain the body assault for long, but when he was targeting Fury’s
body, Fury didn’t seem to like that.
For Whyte to have a real chance here, he is going to need to fight a smart disciplined
effort, and a consistent investment downstairs is essential for him to maximize his chances
of victory.
But I just do not believe that Whyte will be able to have prolonged success against
Fury, because I believe Tyson Fury is just too damn versatile for Dillian Whyte.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this one winds up resembling Fury’s victories against Chisora
many years ago, but the bottom line for me is that Fury is an extremely smart fighter,
he’s proven his toughness beyond reproach in his epic trilogy with Wilder, and Fury
excels regardless of the fighting range - he’s good at boxing from long range and providing
a slippery target, he’s scrappy whenever things transition into mid range, especially
when the action heats up, and he is likewise excellent at mauling guys in close where he
uses his gigantic body to wear down his foes.
And whenever something isn’t working for Fury, he is usually good at changing things
up and giving an opponent a new look.
So for my official prediction, I am taking Tyson Fury by 10th round stoppage.
But what the hell do I know?
Whatever happens, I am looking forward to it, and may the best man win on that night!
April 23rd on ESPN+ PPV.
Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte!
Who do you think will win?
Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night.
This is Rummy’s Corner.