This is a preview of the first fight between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin last August. Povetkin vs Whyte 2 takes place in Gibraltar on Saturday night and you can click here to get our predictions for that fight.
Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin is the biggest fight to take place since the COVID-19 began to lift. Our betting expert previews Saturday night’s explosive showdown, and gives you his betting tips.
Dillian Whyte risks his WBC world interim heavyweight title and a lucrative date with destiny next year as Matchroom’s Fight Camp series reaches a PPV crescendo this weekend.
Whyte has been the WBC mandatory challenger for the last three years so Saturday’s fight with Alexander Povetkin (live on Sky Sports Box Office pay-per-view, price £19.95) will either see his world-title aspirations crushed or see him secure, finally, a much-deserved world title shot in 2021.
‘The Body Snatcher’ is on a rampaging 11-fight winning streak since his sole professional defeat by Anthony Joshua back in 2015, and when this fight was first announced for May was a heavy 1/6 favourite with the bookmakers. However much has changed in the last nine months, in both the boxing business and the Dillian Whyte business.
Povetkin’s odds have been nibbled at in the past few weeks. The Londoner is still a warm order in the betting but is now a 2/7 shot generally for victory, with Povetkin a general 3/1 shout and the draw a top-priced 25/1.
We are told that the 32-year-old Londoner (27-1) has been training hard in Portugal, but there can be no denying he has endured a tumultuous year so far and there’s a nagging suspicion that his preparation has not been ideal for a fight of this magnitude.
Not only has COVID-19 pushed this bout back twice already, Whyte also parted ways with trainer Mark Tibbs recently. Tibbs is the man credited from turning Whyte from brawler to boxer and it remains to be seen how he gels with new trainer Xavier Miller. The announcement this week that Dave Coldwell has been added to Whyte’s corner team on Saturday adds further intrigue, and in the circumstances Povetkin looks a live underdog here.
The 35-2-1 Russian is very much in the winter of his career at the age of 40, but he showed last year he is far from finished after a decision victory over Hughie Fury was followed up by a draw with Michael Hunter at the Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia. Povetkin has been in with some of the very best big men on the planet, both as an amateur and pro, during a fantastic career, and so far only Anthony Joshua has been good enough to stop him inside the distance.
However, Povetkin looked slow and ponderous at times against Hunter and if he elects to have a tear-up with Whyte, who is a murderous puncher when he’s in the mood, he will almost certainly live to regret it.
The pick here is for Povetkin to have some decent moments early on before Whyte catches up with him after the halfway point and claims a bruising stoppage. SkyBet go 11/10 about the Londoner winning by KO/TKO or Disqualification and the same firm go 3/1 that he wins between rounds 7 – 12 at ‘Matchroom Square Garden’.
Verdict: Whyte to win in rounds 7 – 12 at 3/1 with Sky Bet.
