Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin
22nd August 2200hrs
Boxing – WBC interim heavyweight title
Pick Whyte by Decision or Technical Decision
Bookmaker Marathonbet
Odds: 6/4 odds taken 04:35 GMT, Tuesday, 18th August
Dillian White will be stepping into the ring on Friday night to take a shot at defending his WBC interim heavyweight title.
Excitingly the WBC has announced that whoever the winner of the Tyson Fury v Deontay Wilder III match is, they would have to face Whyte.
But now the talk doing the circuits is, if Fury v Wilder gets cancelled again, then it should be scrapped and Whyte would get his shot against Fury for the title.
First things first, of course, Whyte needs to make sure that he does not slip up against the veteran Povetkin on Saturday night.
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Dillian Whyte Preview – Whyte to keep his eye on the ball
This fight is being held at the Matchroom Fight Camp, which is located at promoter Eddie Hearn’s home.
Whyte always seems to be on the fringes of title shots, but will his time come?
He should edge even closer to the picture if he can win this bout, which he is the 2/7 odds-on favourite to do* (odds taken 04:35 GMT, Tuesday, 18th August).
This isn’t just a light workout however, he is facing an experienced fighter and can not let thoughts of future plans get into his head.
This will be Whyte’s first fight since his win over Mariusz Wach in December last year out in Saudi Arabia.
It was his 11th straight victory as well taking him to a career record of 27-1.
Eighteen of Whyte’s victories have been by a knockout, but only one of his last four has ended that way.
This fight was supposed to happen back in May, so there has been a delay.
Whyte didn’t look quite as sharp last time out in beating Wach, the fighter stating that he was overweight for that fight.
This is a banana skin type of bout for the Englishman and we don’t see him stopping his opponent inside of the distance.
That is because they are both back after prolonged absences and there has to be caution all throughout this fight.
Whyte is certainly in no position to get all reckless and unfocused.
Whyte by Decision or Technical Decision gets the nod from us at 6/4* (odds taken 04:35 GMT, Tuesday, 18th August).
Alexander Povetkin Preview – Can Veteran cause an upset?
40-year-old Povetkin is no mug and not to be taken lightly. He lost at Wembley against Anthony Joshua in September 2018.
He then bounced back to beat Hughie Fury on points to claim the vacant WBA international heavyweight title a year later.
The last fight that the Russian had was in Suadi Arabia last year, on the same card as Whtye’s fight with Wach.
That ended in a draw for Povetkin against American Michael Hunter. Three of Povetkin’s last five fights have now gone the distance.
So that makes us think that he is going to come in, take his time and the fight going over 10.5 rounds is at 8/11* (odds taken 04:35 GMT, Tuesday, 18th August).
It has to be said that Povetkin started slowly against Hunter in Suadi Arabia, getting pegged a few times in the opening round.
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Alexander Povetkin will be stepping into his 39th professional fight and the ‘White Lion’ holds a 35-2 career record.
24 of those wins have been by a knockout but three of his last four wins have been by a unanimous decision.
The longer this fight goes on, the more likely it is that Povetkin is to close up defensively a bit in order to conserve a bit of stamina given his age.
But he’s ring-smart, and this is probably his last shot at getting anywhere near a title again.
Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin Betting Advice
Povetkin probably should have lost against Michael Hunter last December, but that’s all in the past.
He is a threat to the Russian, he’s an awkward fighter and Whyte is not likely to have an easy time trying to put him down.
So we are really struggling to see this going any other way than by a decision.
Key Facts – Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin Betting Tip
- Dillian Whyte has won his last 11 bouts
- This is for the WBC interim heavyweight title
- Alexander Povetkin has won 1 of his last 3 fights
Whyte should take it if it comes down to that and he has to be a lot sharper as well than he was for his last effort.
He will be feeling the pressure a lot more than his opponent is, but we see Whyte finding a way to handle this.
Is a spectacular fight on the cards? Probably not, it’s probably going to be a long, slow slug.
The best betting odds for Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin
Dillian Whyte to win: 2/7 at Bet365
Draw: 25/1 at Bet365
Alexander Povetkin to win: 5/2 at Bet365
