The 10 fights that define Dillian Whyte’s heavyweight journey so far


1 Tyson Fury (April 2022)

As long-awaited as it was, it’s hard to deny that when Whyte’s opportunity to fight Fury for the world heavyweight title came along, he didn’t perform as he would have wanted. Stopped in six, he laid barely a glove on Fury up to that point.

2 Alexander Povetkin II (March 2021)

Keen to avenge his 2020 defeat to Povetkin, Whyte, the following year, managed to finish the Russian quicker than he had finished him, getting the job done inside four rounds.

3 Derek Chisora II (December 2018)

Yet another rematch success, in this one Whyte removed all the doubt that lingered following his 2017 fight with Chisora by knocking out his fellow Londoner in the 11th round with as fine a left hook as he has ever thrown as a pro.

4 Alexander Povetkin I (August 2020)

Seemingly on his way to a world title shot, Whyte’s path was dramatically changed when Povetkin, having been dropped twice in the fourth round, produced a spectacular left uppercut in the fifth to leave Dillian out cold on the canvas.

5 Joseph Parker (July 2018)

An entertaining, back-and-forth fight with plenty of ebb and flow, Whyte was able to outlast Parker and beat him on points, though had to drag himself up off the floor in the final round to do so. Before that, he had dropped Parker twice; once in the second round, and once in the ninth.

6 Anthony Joshua (December 2015)

Whyte’s first professional loss arrived back in December 2015 when he failed to capitalise on hurting Joshua in the second round and then found himself knocked out in the seventh following a Joshua barrage.

8 Oscar Rivas (July 2019)

A fight marred by post-fight controversy, Whyte’s decision win over Rivas, an unbeaten Colombian, was nevertheless a good one at the time, especially given he had to rise from a ninth-round knockdown to secure it.

7 Derek Chisora I (December 2016)

Whyte’s first fight with Chisora was the start of a decent rivalry between the pair and was so close and controversial it set up a rematch – which took places two years later – quite perfectly. The result of fight one may have split opinion but the fight itself had everyone entertained.

9 Lucas Browne (March 2018)

Unbeaten in 25 fights at the time, Australia’s Browne travelled to the UK in 2018 with a great deal of confidence yet was to soon be put in his place by Whyte’s left hook, which ended Browne’s challenge in round six.

10 Robert Helenius (October 2017)

Far from vintage Whyte, this struggle with Helenius was one that highlighted both his flaws as a fighter and also his ability to grind out victory even when perhaps not at his best.



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