Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua has everybody talking right now, including fellow elite heavyweight Dillian Whyte, but it’s not that easy to pick a winner.
‘The Body Snatcher’ is preparing for a huge date of his own, as he looks for revenge against Alexander Povetkin in Gilbraltar on Saturday night (live on Sky Sports Box Office and DAZN).
He took time out of preparing for his big rematch with the Russian star to look ahead to the all-British unification showdown planned for the summer.
The bookmakers have it pretty close (Fury is around the 4/7 mark with AJ a 6/4 underdog) and Whyte explained why it is difficult to pick a winner.
Heavyweights unpredictable
He told DAZN’s Ak and Barak Show on SiriusXM: “This is heavyweight boxing man. Who would’ve said Hasim Rahman or Oliver McCall would have knocked out Lennox Lewis? It’s heavyweight boxing. Wladimir Klitschko lost to Ross Puritty, no-one even knows that guy.
“There’s a case for both guys winning this fight, I think. Both guys showed a lot of versatility in their fights. (Joshua’s) two fights with Ruiz and (Fury’s) two fights with Wilder – they’re the same guys but they’re different styles and different ways of getting the victory.
“Joshua had a loss against Ruiz, Fury had a draw against Wilder. Then Fury came off the back foot, was aggressive and knocked Wilder out. And Joshua came off the front foot, got on the back foot and got a points decision against Andy Ruiz.
“You see what I’m saying? It’s hard, only true fans of each guy will say, ‘This guy’s gonna win’. It’s very hard, I don’t think no boxing purist would say, ‘This guys gonna win because of this.’
Fury vs Joshua a 50-50
“The guys are showing different styles and different character in their game and stuff, so it’s very difficult to say who’s gonna win. It’s hard to pick, in my opinion it’s a 50/50 fight.”
Fury and Joshua have agreed to a two-fight deal with an immediate rematch expected to follow their first meeting in summer. That leaves the other heavyweight contenders on the outside looking in right now when it comes to the title picture.
Whyte was on the brink of a WBC title shot as mandatory contender when he suffered a shocking defeat by Povetkin last August. Dillian (27-2) had the Russian (36-2-1) down twice in round four and appeared to be completely on top. But Povetkin unleashed a stunning uppercut in the fifth to put him to sleep.
Now Whyte must get revenge to regain the position as WBC interim champion, and that coveted spot as mandatory challenger. The bookmakers expect him to do just that – he’s currently around the 2/7 mark with Povetkin a 5/2 underdog.
