Where does Whyte go from here?
A month on from Whyte’s all-British affair with Fury, has the boxer’s stock fallen lower than ever?
Most people in the 94,000-strong Wembley crowd knew after just three rounds that Dillian Whyte was out on his feet against Tyson Fury and there for the taking. Indeed, the electric colosseum in England’s capital could sense Whyte was not far away from having the last rites administered to him by a rampant Fury despite the bout just getting underway. It took just three more rounds for that to happen when Fury delivered an uppercut that Whyte will still feel every time he closes his eyes for the rest of his life. It was, in short, a brutal beating and savage end to the biggest day in Whyte’s boxing career.
Where that defeat leaves him now is anyone's guess and tellingly, if you look at the latest boxing bettings odds, you won’t see any sign of Whyte’s name as far upcoming bouts go whilst Fury, despite his retirement, is priced at 3/10 to beat Anthony Johsua should they go head to head.
Essentially, what this tells us is that the experts can see a way back for a man who has promised the world he is retired whilst Whyte, despite still being active, is not given any odds on a future bout. Furthermore, if you scan the most up-to-date boxing predictions then you will also fail to see any mention of Whyte’s name as far as the rest of this year's fights go.
This isn’t by accident, and rather, the world has been left unsure about where the 34-year-old fits into the heavyweight division shake-up after such a disastrous display at Wembley. There is, of course, an argument that says we should be focusing on Fury’s brilliance and not Whyte’s inability to deal with the storm that was rained down on him, and yes, there’s a degree of truth to that given how negative narratives tend to take over in the world of sport.
GYPSY KING STAYS ON TOP ????
Tyson Fury defeats Dillian Whyte via KO to retain his WBC and lineal heavyweight titles#FuryWhytepic.twitter.com/mdAwo9RENw
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 23, 2022
The issue, however, with giving Whyte the benefit of the doubt against Fury is that it was obvious that the 34-year-old was unfit when he appeared in the ring. Indeed, once his ACDC walk-in music had died down, it was evident that Whyte was, for whatever reason, not at his physical best. Simply put, there is no excuse for any boxer not to be in the best possible shape on a night that has the potential to change their lives. Additionally, Whyte was said to have had his head down for months on end in a training camp in Portugal as he prepared for the mega bout at Wembley but once again, these promises didn’t meet the reality which is why Fury was able to defeat him in just the sixth round.
What an uppercut ????
All-angles of @Tyson_Fury's stunning stoppage of Dillian Whyte at Wembley!#FuryWhytepic.twitter.com/prM0yb1EgY
— Boxing on BT Sport ????(@BTSportBoxing) April 27, 2022
It was, undoubtedly, a disappointing end to a showdown that Whyte had been fighting tooth and nail to land for the last three years. When the time came, the boxer regrettably let himself and his camp down by producing one of the worst displays of his career owing to how unfit he was.