Every time Dillian Whyte stands on the brink of a world heavyweight title shot, something bad seems to happen, and now it’s happened again – what are the odds…
‘The Body Snatcher’ was scheduled to face Otto Wallin in a much-hyped London showdown on October 30. Whyte knew that a win would have cemented his right to a shot at the WBC belt currently owned by Tyson Fury.
But now the news has come through that Whyte has a shoulder injury and the fight is off. Disaster for the Brixton superstar, who has a 28-2 pro record.
Whyte of course was WBC mandatory once before – for a seeming eternity. But just when he was one fight away from his shot, he was knocked out by Alexander Povetkin in August 2020.
Dillian did what he had to do, rematching Povetkin and battering him into retirement with a conclusive victory on the island of Gibraltar in March.
Now he was on the brink again of a shot at Fury, who of course retained his WBC, Ring magazine and lineal titles by overcoming Deontay Wilder in their epic trilogy fight on October 9.
Whyte ‘ devastated’
“I am devastated as I had a great camp, was in great shape, and had great sparring,” said Whyte.
“I was looking forward to knocking Wallin out and would have done so in the first half of the fight.
“I am devastated about not being able to fight on October 30 but I want to thank everyone for all of their support.”
Whyte’s Physician, Dr Harjinder Singh, said: “Dillian sustained a shoulder injury during training in preparation for his planned fight on October 30 2021, which I have assessed and confirmed with diagnostic imaging.
“I have treated the injury, but the injury will unfortunately prevent him from fighting on October 30 2021. With immediate rest, physiotherapy and rehabilitation there should be no enduring concerns.”
Dillian Whyte record
Whyte is now 33 years old – he was born April 11, 1988 in Port Antonio, Jamaica. He fights out of Brixton, London.
Known as ‘The Body Snatcher’, Dillian has a pro record of 28-2 – 28 victories and just two defeats with 19 of his wins coming inside distance. He stands 6ft 4ins tall (1.93m) and has a reach of 78ins (1.98m).
Whyte’s only two losses were knockouts at the hands of Anthony Joshua in a terrific matchup of two unbeaten prospects in 2015, and then Alexander Povetkin at Matchroom Fight Camp in August 2020. The latter defeat was especially painful as Dillian just needed to win to claim a title shot against Fury.
Whyte gained revenge over Povetkin, and the interim WBC title, by sending the Russian into retirement on the back of a fearful beating on Gibraltar in March 2021.
Other signature wins on a superb resume for Dillian include successes against Joseph Parker, Dereck Chisora (twice), Robert Helenius and Oscar Rivas.
October 30 DAZN show will go on
Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed meanwhile that the October 30 DAZN show which should have been topped by Whyte vs Wallin WILL go ahead. It will now be headlined by the Chantelle Cameron vs Mary McGee super-lightweight unification clash.