Saturday night saw Dillian Whyte v Alexander Povetkin as the grand FINALE of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Fight Camp and it certainly ended with FIREWORKS as veteran heavyweight Povetkin proved ONE PUNCH can change everything with a sensational CAREER BEST short left uppercut that ended the bout and Whyte’s dreams of becoming WBC world heavyweight champion in the near future.
Whyte started well and was winning the fight having DROPPED Povetkin twice in the 4 round only for Povetkin to re-group and send Whyte flying to the canvas in the 5th.
Povetkin had showed in the earlier rounds that even at the ripe old age of nearly 41 he still has his punching power left, as he landed some cracking body shots.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed that they had a re-match clause in the fight contract which they would be triggering and hopefully the can meet again in December this year, however the Russian [Povetkin] has said he will leave his next fight up to his promoters, who no doubt will be trying to secure a fight with the winner of Tyson Fury v Deontay Wilder now that their charge is in the No.1 spot previously occupied by Whyte.
Speaking to Daily Sport Boxing Eddie [Hearn] said “I felt like I was in some dream. The fight was over, virtually. Povetkin started well, Dillian Whyte was measuring up and had a great finish to the 3rd round. Then he has two heavy knockdowns in the 4th round. I know I felt, and a lot of people felt, that it was over. But this is the drama of the sport that we love. This is the drama of heavyweight boxing – one punch can change everything. And tonight, one punch just completely changed the fight. Dillian Whyte was in total control of the fight, I really felt confident that he was about to end the fight. Was he complacent? Was it just great work from Alexander Povetkin? There’s that uppercut that some believe Whyte is susceptible to and Povetkin slipped right under and delivered it. Unbelievable. It is a shock. We knew how good Povetkin was and we knew how dangerous he was. Dillan Whyte had that fight virtually in the bag but we know how dangerous these elite Heavyweights can be. It was just a thrilling knockout on a thrilling night. I’m pretty much lost for words.”
