Fight Camp Week 4- Whyte vs Povetkin
The final week of Fight Camp boasts the best card yet with Dillian Whyte squaring off against Alexander Povetkin for the WBC Interim World Title and the WBC Diamond Title.
This is a massive fight with huge implications for the heavyweight division as the winner will not only take the titles that are up for grabs in this fight but they will also become the mandatory challenger for the WBC World Title and will have to face the winner of the fight of Fury vs Wilder 3.
This ruling comes after Dillian Whyte’s long spell at the top of the WBC rankings and a spell as WBC Interim World Champion. Whyte and Matchroom Boxing have long been demanding a shot at the World Title and with this ruling and should the Brixton man with this fight he will get his shot.
Despite being the WBC number one contender for over 1000 days, Whyte has taken no easy fights and has consistently taken fights against top contenders. The 32-year-old has faced Browne, Parker, Chisora, Rivas and Wach in his last 5 fights. He knows another win against another top contender in Povetkin will give him the shot against WBC Champion Tyson Fury that he so desires.
"I just hope Fury doesn't be a coward and vacate," he told BBC Sport.
"Knowing him he'll think it's cool. Wilder was a coward before him. I hope he doesn't do the same thing. I can only control what I can control - beating Povetkin."
Whyte comes into this fight with a new training team, with Dave Caldwell as his head trainer for this fight after he moved his training camp to Portugal and Mark Tibbs was no longer available to head his corner.
Whyte knows that this is an extremely difficult fight and one that he cannot take his eye off of. "One sure way to get beaten up in the heavyweight division is to think 'this guy is 40 years old' or whatever. I put myself through hell and if their best version turns up then I will not be surprised.
"I can have a war or I can box. When I'm in shape I don't care because if I blow up I know I can recover."
Despite his age, Povetkin is not an easy fight, he is a tricky, well-schooled and powerful opponent who has fought at World Title level and is still operating at a world class level. Povetkin has only two loses on his record, one to Klitschko and the other to Anthony Joshua. He boasts a great record with only two loses coming in 36 fights and has finished 24 of 34 wins by KO.
The power has been evident to see in his previous fights with devastating finishes over boxers such as David Price and Carlos Takam.
Povetkin is an extremely decorated amateur who has an Olympic gold medal and gold medal at the World Championships, has also reached the pinnacle of professional boxing by becoming WBA World Champion. His boxing pedigree combined with his power will pose a dangerous dimension to Whyte.
This fight promises to extremely competitive and an intriguing fight. A fight that Eddie Hearn described as ‘pivotal’ in the current ‘heavyweight jigsaw’.
Katie Taylor vs Delfine Persoon 2
The chief support of the night is the rematch that many have been demanding. Katie Taylor will face off against Persoon.
The pair originally fought on 1st June 2019 in New York on the Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr bill. Taylor controversially won the fight in a decision and became the unified, undisputed Lightweight World Champion.
Taylor was dragged into Persoon’s fight and began to brawl with the tough Belgian instead of using her superior boxing skill and pedigree to win the fight. Persoon believed that she won the fight and since been demanding the rematch.
The rematch will see Taylors WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and Ring magazine belt on the line.
Taylor now a two-weight World Champion is relishing the challenge. “With Amanda Serrano not taking the fight I wanted the biggest fight possible in August and I think a second Persoon fight is one that everyone wants to see ...I’ve been looking forward to a rematch ever since the first fight and I’m delighted it’s been made. It was definitely very close first time around, but I felt I deserved the win and I intend to leave no doubts in the rematch.” Said Taylor.
Persoon will look for revenge and reclaim the WBC belt that she held for 5 years and take the other back with her to Belgium.
Both intend to have no doubt about the result, and it promises to a fascinating affair.
Rest of the Card
Jack Cullen and Zac Chelli open the card. Cullen has moved up to Super Middleweight and will look to his range to control the fight against the touted Chelli.
Chelli has sparred against the likes of Eubank Jr, George Groves and James Degale and is very well respected. Although he is not a well-known fighter, he poses a real threat and carries a lot of power.
The key for Cullen will be to use his range and height advantage in order to control the fight and pick Chelli apart.
Next on the bill is Alen Babic against Shawndell Winters. The heavyweights were a late addition to the card but nonetheless add an interesting fight to the card.
Croatia’s Babic is an explosive fighter and has a growing reputation in the heavyweight division and will look to show why he has the nickname ‘The Savage’.
Babic only has three fights on his record but has never been past three rounds but he has spent this camp sparring with headliner Dillian Whyte. Babic will look to make a name for himself against the experienced Winters who has shown toughness against his career on his way to his 14 victories.
After the heavyweight showdown, Luther Clay faces off against Chris Kongo at Welterweight. This is a fight that has the potential to the fight of the card.
Kongo will be a tough challenge for Clay. Kongo is a very tall fighter for the weight class, he stands at 6ft which gives him a significant height and reach advantage.
Kongo is very confident is his ability heading into this fight. "This is my time to shine," said Kongo.
"I don’t think this fight will last the distance. Someone is going down, and I’m sure it won’t be me.
"I see him as a quality opponent. He has a few good fundamentals that I've noticed, but on the night, I believe he’s limited in what he does. I’ve seen his last few fights, and I don’t think he has any good finishing qualities like an elite fighter.
"And speed kills. Once I show my speed in the ring, everything will come off that. You will see him on the floor, guaranteed. Once I have you hurt, it’s over. Everyone I’ve hurt in that ring did not see the last bell."
Clay is looking forward to the challenge. “He's [Kongo] quite powerful, I guess. We’ll see. I know he is a good boxer, and everyone rates him.
"I am interested to test myself and see if this is real. He’s got the reputation; he’s got the clout. That’s what I want. I’m grateful to be on Sky but that’s not the be-all and end-all. That’s to win this fight and what comes next.
"He says he will knock me out? I say OK, bring it. Let’s go. I haven’t been to the well yet. I feel like I’ve been cruising. If he’s the one to take me there, I look forward to it.” Said Clay.
This is an intriguing fight that will show whether Kongo is the real deal and whether he can go on to bigger things.
The final week of Fight Camp is a very strong card and is stacked with fights that promise to be full of action.
