One punch was all that was needed to erase years of hard work.
Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte (27-2, 18 KOs) waited patiently above the Frey in the WBC rankings for years. At every turn the British native bellyached about his shot at a world title. For the most part, Whyte’s pleas fell on deaf ears.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman went on record stating that Whyte would finally get his chance. Provided of course he got past fellow contender Alexander Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs).
For Whyte, a win against Povetkin was a forgone conclusion. It made little sense to analyze their matchup as Whyte was simply going to walk into the ring tonight and destroy the long faded contender.
For those who believed in that notion, they were made to look like Nostradamus as Whyte outclassed his man. At least early on.
Whyte landed shots whenever and wherever he wanted to at promoter Eddie Hearn’s Fight Camp at his Matchroom Boxing backyard event.
With three early rounds in the bank, Whyte went to another level as he floored his man not once, but twice during the fourth round. Whyte seemed to be on the verge of closing the show but was forced to wait due to the final seconds ticking off the clock.
In the fifth, Whyte was still in complete control and at this point, the ending of their contest was an unambiguous question.
With his back completely against the wall, Povetkin crouched down, closed his eyes and launched a deleterious left uppercut, hoping that it landed.
It did. And down Whyte went.
From the moment the shot connected, Whyte’s body went completely limp well before his head bounced off the canvas. The look of unconsciousness rang similar to the one Whyte had on his face five years earlier in his contest against unified champion Anthony Joshua. Much like that bout, Whyte was left slumped on the ropes completely unaware of his surroundings.
The win for Povetkin not only netted him the interim WBC heavyweight title, but it also left Whyte incredulous of what happened.
Final Score For Alexander Povetkin: A
With 41 years of age staring Alexander Povetkin directly in the face next month, calls from the AARP constantly flashed on the phone of the Russian contender. Yet, this afternoon, he proved that he isn’t quite ready to hang the gloves up just yet.
Povetkin’s one punch knockout has already made the rounds on ESPN’s highlight reel. But other than his new found fame, Povetkin finds himself back in the mix in the heavyweight division.
Simply put, his left hand not only broke Whyte’s 11 fight win streak, but it also broke the British contenders heart as he finds himself in the back of the line of the heavyweight division.
