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Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte had a big scare on Saturday night in London, when he picked up a twelve round majority decision in a much tougher than expected scrap with unbeaten Jermaine Franklin.
The scores were 115-115, 116-112 and 116-112.
Whyte was knocked out in six rounds back in April, when he challenged WBC world champion Tyson Fury.
The contest with Franklin was made as a bounce-back return for Whyte, in order to set the stage for a 2023 rematch with Anthony Joshua, who was sitting ringside at Wembley Arena.
However, a large number of fans and experts were upset with the scorecards. Many felt the bout was closer to a draw – or could have been scored a victory for Franklin. One thing that most observers seemed to agree on, was Franklin winning more than four rounds in the fight.
Whyte’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, agrees with the consensus that the fight was close.
Hearn saw Whyte as a razor-close winner by one or two points – with the victory being secured in the final rounds.
Because of the close nature of the contest, Hearn is not surprised that so many observers had scored the fight for Franklin or had it a tallied as a draw.
“I thought Dillian won the championship rounds to win the fight by a round, maybe two rounds,’ Hearn told IFL TV.
“I can see a draw, and when it is 115-113 I can see it the other way as well. So I don’t blame people for thinking Franklin might’ve nicked the fight because it was a very close fight.’
“It’s not a robbery at all. It was a very close fight. I feel it was 115-113 to Whyte. I can see a draw. Can I see 115-113 to Franklin? Not really, but maybe… Anyone who says that’s a robbery is thick as sh!t in all honesty.’