Anthony Joshua v Dillian Whyte – who wins?
Anthony Joshua MBE and Dillian Whyte are each predicting a knockout night when they clash for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles in Bad Intentions at The O2 in London on December 12, live on Sky Sports.
Both unbeaten men landed big KO wins in their previous bouts to add to the hype of the hotly-anticipated contest and settle a rivalry that stretches back to their early amateur days with Whyte currently 1-0 up over the Olympic gold medallist.
BBN asked the boxing world for their thoughts on the tantalising heavyweight contest for the coveted British crown.
Ricky Hatton MBE Former two-weight World champion@HitmanHatton
"This will be Anthony Joshua's toughest fight to date. No disrespect to Dillian but I just think that AJ is on a different level and I think Anthony will win around the halfway mark."
Ben Day (7-0-1) Southern Area andInternational Masters super-lightweight champion@benday32
"I think it's a great match up, I feel Anthony Joshua has the leading edge because of his athleticism and speed. Having said that, anything can happen at that weight with 10oz gloves on. I've seen Dillian Whyte hurt Derek Chisora in sparring and he's a good fighter."
Dean Gillen (2-1) Middleweight@TeamDeanoPro
"One thing is for sure, Whyte is coming to win!I personally think AJ is in trouble and will be tested. I don't believe the big man has a chin to match his physique and I'm sure Dillian is more than happy to test it!! I refer to their amateur bout where Dillian dominated and dropped the big man, and that wasn't the first time AJ got rocked in the amateurs!I know Joshua isn't the same man nowadays but his chin is, which hasn't been tested as a pro. As Froch famously said, "you can't build muscle on your chin!"I can see Whyte rocking the big man, but ultimately Joshua is a man-mountain and should pull through!"
Nick Webb (3-0) Unbeaten heavyweight@itsanickting
"Whyte looks easy to hit especially if he fights with his left arm low like he did against Minto in his last fight. Whyte could trouble AJ early on but I don't rate his defence. That's not to take anything away from Dillian because he's a tough kid and taking punches don't seem to bother him but AJ's punches are a different story. AJ definitely has the advantage in stature and reach, and also in boxing ability. I predict an early stoppage for AJ."
Lloyd Ellett (18-1) Three-time Masters champion@lightningbolt07
"Joshua in rounds 1-3! I can't see him not being able to catch Whyte especially if he's carrying his left low like he does. If AJ can find him with that right hand, which I think he will, then it's going to go early, I believe."
Matt MarshFormer British champion @MattMarsh147
"AJ is too big for Dillian Whyte. Even though he lost to him in the amateurs, AJ is on another level and will stop him in four-six rounds."
George Hennon (2-0) Unbeaten welterweight@georgehennon12
"I'm thinking AJ to win early. The amateur bout is absolutely nothing to go on at all, I think Joshua stops him inside four."
Sam Smith (Debutant) Light-heavyweight @SniperSamSmith
"I can see it being a shoot-out early as Whyte is likely to give it a go. But, as Joshua is bigger, hits harder, had more amateur experience at the highest level and seems to have the better boxing skills, I have to with him by stoppage."
Darrel Church (2-1) Light-heavyweight prospect@Darrel_Church89
"Joshua to win by KO. I, 100 per cent, don't think that Dillian Whyte is in his league whatsoever. Another easy night for AJ, I think."
Wayne Adeniyi (11-0) Central Area cruiserweight champion @WayneAdeniyi
"I fancy big Josh to win. I think it will be a stoppage in the mid-rounds, between 4-6. Just looking at the fight they had in the amateurs, Whyte outhustled Joshua but they were real novice amateurs with less than a few fights each, he put it on him and bullied him. He weren’t bad, Joshua, even then, and his stand up boxing was quite impressive but Whyte was just like Mike Tyson and outworked him. They’ve both improved as fighters, the way that Joshua is now, if Whyte comes out like that then Joshua will ping him everywhere! If he comes in like that with Joshua now, he’ll have a field day and he’ll walk onto all sorts."
Johnny GreavesBoxing Manager@JohnnyGreaves
"I think Joshua is a hell of a different fighter since the amateur loss to Whyte. For me, it's another early blowout going Joshua's way. Mind you, it will very interesting if Anthony does get caught on the whiskers – If he can take a shot, then he's the full package."
Tim RicksonTR Sports@TimRickson
"I have no reason to believe that this fight will be any different to every other AJ fight to date – AJ to win within three rounds again. The rivalry that stems back to that much-viewed amateur fight doesn't mean anything at all other than its ability to sell the fight. It was a long time ago and I think only AJ's fourth ever bout so I don't really see how it can play any sort of role in the outcome unless it can mentally affect the big man, which I doubt it will. I'm a big fan of the Brixton Body-snatcher but once AJ has connected with one of those right hand bombs then it'll be all over. Both can bang though so it's a great fight for the fans and the bad blood just adds to the excitement."
Schedule
- Anthony Joshua VS Dillian Whyte 12 x 3 mins British & Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles
- Chris Eubank Jr VS Spike O'Sullivan 12 x 3 mins Eliminator for WBA Middleweight title
- Tony Bellew VS Mateusz Masternak 12 x 3 mins Cruiserweight contest
- Kevin Mitchell VS Ismael Barroso 12 x 3 mins Interim WBA Lightweight title
- Luke Campbell VS TBA Lightweight contest
- Josh Warrington VS Jorge Sanchez 12 x 3mins WBC International Featherweight title