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Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte would suffer some serious damage to his standing in the weight class – if he loses his rematch with Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night in Gibraltor.
Back in August of 2020, Whyte was knocked out in five rounds by Povetkin at Matchroom’s Fight Camp in Brentwood.
Whyte would quickly exercise an immediate rematch clause.
Former world champion Johnny Nelson believes a repeat defeat would make Whyte think long and hard about his future in the sport.
“His stock would drop rapidly. There are fights out there still. He’s just obviously come up against his bogeyman who will always have his number,” Nelson said to Sky Sports.
“Could he recover? Yes, but realistically once you know that there’s a man out there that can beat you, what kind of fighter does that make you? Does it take away your ambition to be at the top?
“For Dillian, he’s an ambitious fighter who has pride. I think a loss for Dillian would make him think long, hard and seriously about where he stands in the heavyweight landscape.”
Retired world title challenger and Sky Sports pundit, Matthew Macklin, says Whyte would be very far behind in achieving his goals if another loss is suffered.
“You’re only as good as your last fight. You can lose a couple, but if you then put in a good performance, you can turn things around,” Macklin said.
“Dillian was really bossing the fight. In my opinion, he had won every round. He dropped Povetkin as well a couple of times in the round before. It looked like he was on his way to stopping him, but he got knocked out, it was a brilliant shot. If it happens again, then maybe Povetkin is his bogeyman.
“Another defeat and it’s a serious rebuilding job. The world title aspirations, I’m not saying they’re no longer possible, but they wouldn’t be happening in the foreseeable future.”