Photo by Ed Mulholland/HBO
On Saturday, March 24, 2018, Dillian Whyte (22-1, 16 KOs) stepped into the ring to defend the WBC Silver Heavyweight title he won against Robert Helenius in Cardiff last October.
Whyte took on Australian Heavyweight, Lucas Browne (25-0, 22 KOs), whose body reflected what you would expect from a 38-year-old postal worker–not all that fit.
Rotund as he is, Browne was given a chance going into the fight because of his perceived heavy hands, owning 22 knockouts in 25 victories.
HBO, who has quickly fallen behind their competition in terms of quality fights, televised the fight in the United States with a hopeful eye on the winner being a contender in the glamour division.
Round 1 was a feeling out process for both big men. Browne, like many of this training videos, was nimble and on his toes as he showed a lot of upper body movement.
Whyte primarily looked to find a home for his big right hand for much of the round and was at least successful in opening a cut on Browne’s left eye.
Whyte zoned in on Browne’s eye in Round 2 as he began clubbing Browne with solid overhand rights, particularly on Browne’s bloody eye.
The next few rounds saw Whyte teeing off on Browne, as “The Body Snatcher” began mixing in hard hooks to the Aussie’s body. By Round 4, Browne could only offer up slow counters, which he missed, in retaliation to Whyte’s power punches.
As Jim Lampley stated at the beginning of Round 5, Lucas Browne seemingly could not see the left hand coming, as Whyte continued to play target practice on Browne’s face.
“His face is a bloody mess that’s falling apart,” said Max Kellerman who joined Lampley ringside to call the bout for HBO.
While Browne continued moving forward, Whyte continued to pop him with a steady jab and vicious shots to the body.
Right when Kellerman began questioning if allowing the fight to continue was a good idea, things took a brutal turn in Round 6.
Whyte connected on Browne with a huge right hand, which turned out the lights for the previously unbeaten challenger, leaving him face first and motionless on the canvas.
Dillian Whyte scores a vicious knockout of Lucas Browne 😱#Boxing #WhyteBrowne #RBRBoxing pic.twitter.com/gH4fF6JgTA
— Round By Round Boxing (@RBRBoxing) March 24, 2018
With the victory, Whyte remains on track to become next in line for Wilder’s WBC strap–a fight he excitedly yelled for in his post-fight interview.
“Deontay Wilder, where you at? Let’s go,” said an animated Whyte. “Let’s do this, June, live at the O2, let’s get it! I’m No. 1 baby. That’s it.”
Whyte also mentioned his interest in landing a rematch against Anthony Joshua, something his Matchroom Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn, is in agreement with.
“This was the most important in the division outside of the world Heavyweight championships,” said Matchroom Sport boxing promoter Eddie Hearn (via The Telegraph). “There are two fights I want Dillian to have: against Anthony Joshua and WBC champion Deontay Wilder.”
Highlights courtesy of HBO
