“It’s a fight that Dillian will start as favourite, but it could easily go either way because of what happened in the summer,” Sky Sports experts make their predictions ahead of Povetkin vs Whyte 2 tonight
The Panel
Dillian Whyte wants to inflict brutal revenge on Alexander Povetkin, but will he emerge victorious from a crucial rematch? The Panel have made their predictions…
Whyte reignites his rivalry with Povetkin in their second heavyweight showdown, live on Sky Sports Box Office, following the Russian’s stunning knockout victory in the summer.
But can the British contender earn redemption with a rematch victory, or will Povetkin repeat his destructive victory?
Carl Froch
I reckon he’ll knock out Povetkin. Get him out of there within nine rounds.
Whyte needs to stay switched on and concentrate for the whole fight. He could still get caught with a few shots, because Povetkin is tricky. But I’m confident that Whyte will do the business.
He’ll be a little bit more cagey early on and stay focused for longer. As soon as he starts letting his shots go, when Povetkin starts to slow down, I think Whyte will get the job done. But you just never know, it’s heavyweight boxing and Povektin has an awkward tricky style.
Johnny Nelson
Dillian Whyte will stop Povetkin between the fifth and seventh rounds. I think Povetkin knows he’s got to ride out the storm initially. He will take a few shots and he’ll tuck up tight.
Povetkin will always be dangerous, until he’s out, flat on his back. They will be telling Povetkin that it’s going to be a rough ride, ‘wait until he gets a little bit tired, wait for him to drop his guard.’
Dillian will try and jump on him. He’ll use pace, he’ll use speed, he’ll use his freshness, those long arms and that power. But he cannot cross swords early, because it’s a case of who lands, not who’s the best. Dillian must box him long and hurt him on the end of a long shot, because the second he crossed swords, he got turned over. That’s what he’s got to respect about Povetkin.
Adam Smith
It’s always difficult making a definitive prediction when you’re calling the big fight, but what I would say is that this is the most vital night in Dillian Whyte’s 10-year career. He’s got the confidence of knowing he was clearly winning the first battle with Alexander Povetkin in the summer. But also, are there going to be those mental demons, having been knocked cold so dramatically.
I admire his tenacity and desire to go straight back into the fight. I think the delay has probably helped him, with the new relationship with Harold Knight, a trainer I rate highly from his long fruitful journey with Lennox Lewis.
The last thing a fighter loses, particularly a heavyweight, is his punch. With 36 wins in 39, that stellar amateur career, so much knowledge. Will lightning strike twice? It’s a fight that Dillian will start as the favourite, but it could easily go either way because of what happened in the summer. The delay, the time he’s had with Harold Knight and the fact he was comfortably winning the fight the first time around, gives Dillian Whyte the edge but only a slight one.
Michael Hunter
I think that it’s going to be a repeat. It’s going to be very similar to the first fight. Povetkin always gets to his man at some point and Dillian Whyte always gets hit at some point in all of his fights, so I think it’s going to be a very similar outcome.
It could go either way, but I just think the experience [of Povetkin] is going to outweigh Whyte’s youth and skills.
Tony Bellew
Dillian Whyte by KO inside eight rounds. He was on the way to a stoppage last time and just ran into a once in a career punch. That’s all it was, in my opinion.
There’s no such thing as a lucky punch in boxing, because lucky punches don’t happen. You throw a punch, it lands, if it was supposed to land. But there is such a thing as a once-in-a-lifetime punch. I don’t think he’ll ever be down and hurt the way he was and come back the way he did.
In the rematch, when he goes down, Dillian will be a bit more patient this time, a lot less reckless, and he’ll go in and flatten him.
Derek Chisora
Dillian will be in a catch 22, because first of all he talks like he’s going to bring maximum violence. He will want to go violent on this guy and in the back of his mind he’ll remember the knockout, and then he’s going to try and play safe.
I see Dillian winning it, but how he wins it, I don’t know yet.
Dave Coldwell
I think Dillian knocks him out. You saw how his jab worked before. Now I believe they’ve improved the jab, they’ve worked on that. I think Dillian will open him up, find the gaps and exploit them.
🥳 THE FIGHT STARTS NOW! 🥳
The waiting is almost over, Alexander Povetkin and @DillianWhyte meet again tonight, repeat or revenge? 🤔
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— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) March 27, 2021
He’ll be highly concentrated. Whenever Povetkin is in there, we know it’s a dangerous fight. That’s what makes it intriguing. Dillian knows he cannot take a split second off in this fight.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he had the same success in the early rounds. Dillian has got to be assertive, but he’s still got to be mindful of what comes back and I think he gets the job done and stops him.
Joseph Parker
From the first fight, we all saw that he was controlling the fight before he got caught with that good punch that was set up.
In this fight, I feel like he’s going to get the victory. I think he’s going to be a little bit more cautious, with those shots that Povetkin throws, but I feel like he’s going to come out on top. That’s my pick, revenge.
Matthew Macklin
I think Whyte probably stops him in the later rounds. He was boxing well. He was cautious, he was tight defensively. Obviously scored the two knockdowns.
Credit to Povetkin. It was a shot he was setting up, because he was putting in a lot of left hooks to the body, which ultimately gave him the gap to thread the left uppercut through.
Even if Dillian has him hurt, or drops him, or has him on the ropes, I don’t think he’ll rush in. He’ll be content to keep softening him up, until the stoppage comes. He’ll grind him down.
Andy Clarke
Dillian Whyte wins via a late stoppage. I don’t think points is out of the question. It’s one of those situations, a bit like Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr, where he just has to win. It doesn’t matter how he does it and it doesn’t matter how it looks. None of that matters, he just has to win.
You look at that first fight, things were going nicely. He was using the jab pretty well and I don’t think he needs to take any undue risks here. He won’t be gun shy, because of what happened in the first fight, or hesitant or nervous, but he just needs to win the fight.
The deeper he goes into the fight, the less chance Povetkin has really got. He’ll break him down, bit by bit, and will stop him in the 10th round.
