It has been almost three months since Dillian Whyte, having been made to wait so long for a shot at a world title, was done away with in relatively straightforward fashion by defending WBC heavyweight boss Tyson Fury. Now, having been in talks with Ben Shalom and his BOXXER outfit, along with Sky Sports, Whyte is looking at the various options that are open to him.
Chief among these options is a third fight with bitter rival Dereck Chisora, and a return match with Joseph Parker. Shalom believes Whyte can still feature in big and exciting fights.
Fans are wondering what Whyte, 28-3(19) will do next. Has Whyte still got a career at elite level ahead of him?
Whyte’s comments upon speaking with BBC Radio after being knocked out by Fury make it clear he himself feels he has indeed got lots left to offer. Whyte, spoke of the loss as a “good learning experience.” And Whyte said the fight “was close” and that he didn’t feel like he was being outclassed. Now, can Whyte bounce back as he did after being KO’d by Alexander Povetkin?
Sad to say, but Whyte was outclassed in the fight with Fury; with Fury pitching a shut-out in the opinion of most observers before the ending. Whyte was to many a major disappointment, with his wild swings and his inability to get in close to do anything of any consequence hurting his chances big time. It was always going to be tough for Whyte, and Fury is so good he made Whyte look average. Maybe Whyte can come back stronger and, if matched with a less mobile heavyweight, one who has legs as slow as his own, maybe the 34 year old can rebuild. One thing though, Whyte has to work on avoiding the uppercut, this the shot that caused his demise in each of his three defeats.
Again, maybe Whyte will have now learned that he must work hard on avoiding the uppercut. Whyte is still a big name, he is perhaps young enough to be able to come again and he has a fan following. Towards the end of the year, when he is permitted to come back, who should Whyte fight? A third fight with Chisora would be welcomed by the fans, that’s for sure; fights 1 and 2 being great action fights. And maybe Whyte can repeat his win over Parker?
Whyte, though, does seem to be facing a long road back to anything like elite level. Whyte has now suffered three pretty nasty knockout defeats – to Anthony Joshua, to Povetkin, and to Fury. How badly Whyte’s remaining punch resistance will have been affected is just one question fans are asking about him in terms of Whyte’s chances of making it back.
Who would YOU like to see Whyte fight next?