By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury of England will be defending his title against Dillian Whyte in front of approximately 100,000 fans at the famous Wembley Stadium in London, England this Saturday, April 23rd. The 12-round bout can be seen in North America on ESPN pay-per-view while fans in the UK can catch it on BT Sport Box Office pay-per-view. Fury last fought in October when he stopped Deontay Wilder in the 11th round of their trilogy bout while Whyte last saw action in March, 2021 when he stopped Alexander Povetkin in the fourth round of their rematch.
The 33-year-old Fury of Manchester, will technically be defending his lineal title on Saturday night as well as the WBC Crown. He looked impressive against Wilder in their first outing even though he was decked twice along the way and had his own way in the rematch even though he struggled to put away the wounded Wilder. He was then decked twice again by Wilder in their third meeting but managed to stop the ex-champion late in the contest, again while Wilder was apparently out on his feet.
Other than his bouts against Wilder, Fury has achieved just one other true moment of glory as a pro boxer and that came in November, 2015 when he upset Wladimir Klitschko by unanimous decision to win the IBF, WBO, IBO, WBA and lineal world titles. However, it was arguably the worst heavyweight title fight in history. After beating Klitschko, Fury was soon stripped of his belts and suspended for drug use, but still does lay claim to the lineal heavyweight crown.
Fury is one of the bigger heavyweights out there as he stands 6-feet-9-inches tall with a wingspan of 85 inches. He’ll enter the ring with a mark of 31-0-1 with 22 Kos and has 204 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2008 following a good amateur career. He has better-than-average power, with a current knockout ratio of 68.7 per cent but has gone the distance in four of his last eight outings. Fury possesses good but awkward and unconventional boxing skills and also been been dropped by Steve Cunningham and Neven Pajkic.
Fury’s biggest wins were obviously against Wilder and Klitschko but Klitschko basically gave his titles away by not engaging with him. Other than that, Fury has beaten some pretty good journeymen along the way such as Francesco Pianeta, Otto Wallin, Christian Hammer, Dereck Chisora (twice), Joey Abell, Cunningham, Kevin Johnson, Marcelo Luiz Nascimento and Vinny Maddalone. Since turning pro Fury has also captured the English, Commonwealth, British, Irish, European, WBO Inter-Continental and WBO International Heavyweight Titles.
The 34-year-old Whyte fights out of London, England and is also a former British and WBC International Heavyweight Champion and has won the WBO International and WBC Silver Heavyweight Crowns. He enters the ring at 28-2 with 19 Kos and owns pretty good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 63.3 per cent. Whyte stands 6-feet-4-four inches tall and has a 78-inch reach and has boxed 164 rounds since turning pro in 2011 after a short amateur career. He gives up five inches in height and seven inches in reach to Fury.
His biggest wins have been over Povetkin, Mariusz Wach, Oscar Rivas, Joseph Parker, Lucas Browne, Robert Helenius, Brian Minto and two victories over Dereck Chisora. Whyte’s first pro defeat came at the hands of Anthony Joshua via a seventh-round stoppage in December, 2015 before Joshua won his title belts by beating Wladimir Klitschko. Whyte also fought Joshua as an amateur in 2009 and dropped him along the way to a decision win.
He was then stopped by Povetkin in the fifth round in 2020 after he dropped the Russian twice in the fourth. Whyte’s a former kickboxer and mixed-martial artist with decent boxing skills but he usually relies on his power to carry him through. He’s got good size for a heavyweight but his chin can be questioned as he’s been stopped by Povetkin and Joshua and was decked by Parker and Rivas. Whyte’s also beaten the likes of Ian Lewison, David Allen and Marcelo Luiz Nascimento.
Prediction…
It’s hard to predict Fury’s and Whyte’s fights since they both have the power to stop most of their foes but there’s also a decent chance they could hit the canvas themselves. This is another prime example of that scenario. The difference with Fury though is that when he gets dropped he usually gets back up. Whyte would need to make sure this isn’t the case if he hopes to beat him. I don’t see Whyte outboxing Fury so he’s either going to have to stop him or drop him several times to pick up a points victory. Fury prefers to stay away from firefights as he’s always at risk if he stands his ground and goes toe-to-toe. In a way though, his chin has probably helped him perfect his movement and boxing skills but he’s always vulnerable to a flush power punch. Whyte needs to wade in and land as many heavy shots as he can or he’ll simply be outboxed. It’s easier said than done though against Fury. This could go either way but I give the edge to Fury as he has the better chance to take a decision if it goes the distance.
