Dillian Whyte gets career lifeline as Povetkin rematch officially confirmed for November

Dillian Whyte will get the chance to resurrect his career now that a rematch with Alexander Povetkin has been made official. The fight will now go ahead in late November and will be staged in London, meaning that Povetkin will have to travel to foreign shores once more. Indeed, the Russian will be tasked with doing another job on his English counterpart whilst on enemy soil, although it has to be said, it all went quite well for him the last time the 41-year-old jetted into the UK to do battle. Naturally, a lot of the conversation following the fight had centered around whether Whyte’s career was over. but less than a month later, the Body Snatcher has answered those questions by insisting that he is ready to go again.

Late August carnage in Eddie Hearn's backyard

Very few people could have predicted how the first fight between these two heavyweights would end up going. In fact, it was probably Dillian Whyte who was the most surprised out of everyone at the turn of events. This is of course, once he had opened his eyes and come to his senses after being knocked out by Povetkin in the fifth round.

Repeat or Revenge?

Alexander Povetkin landed a huge uppercut to KO @DillianWhyte in August, but will 'The Body Snatcher' get his revenge on November 21?

Povetkin v Whyte 2, November 21, Sky Sports Box Office pic.twitter.com/wneKcvxqKq

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) September 15, 2020

Up until then, Whyte had caused Povetkin all sorts of problems and even managed to send him to the canvas twice. Once the fifth round started, the headlines for the Sunday papers were being prematurely written, although with a fair bit of confidence, as the 41-year-old Povetkin on shaky legs staggered over from his corner to begin the round. It was only a matter of time before Whyte administered the last rites and went on his way to fight either Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury.

It was just 35 seconds into that round when the sounds of victory in Whyte’s head were replaced with the sounds of a flash grenade, as Povetkin delivered an uppercut with such venom that the Englishman was knocked out well before he hit the ground.

Povetkin, never one to show too much emotion, swaggered back to his corner and screamed at the tops of his lungs. The sound of the Russian’s roar from somewhere deep within him also severed as a reminder of the brutal nature of heavyweight boxing. It was all a bit surreal once Povetkin’s camp had calmed down, the trees quietly blew in the back of Eddie Hearns garden as the medical team attended to Whyte. This was a far cry from the raucous atmosphere of Wembley or Las Vegas, you can only imagine that when Whyte came to, he felt a sense of deep loneliness.

There would have been shocked punters sitting as motionless as Whyte, staring at the TV set wondering where it all went wrong? That doesn’t just apply to UK fight fans, as there was plenty of attention in the US due to Wilder being a key figure in the heavyweight division and boxing being one of the most popular sports to bet on in the States. The recent legalization of online sports betting in a number of states across the US over the last few years has only added to this as fans can now get involved without having to travel all the way to Las Vegas.

Only fools rush in

After any boxer gets knocked out in a professional bout they are immediately handed a 28-day medical suspension which also covers sparring in the gym. Depending on the severity of the knockout, the British Boxing Board of Control can increase the suspension to 45 days, which many thought may happen to Whyte, or at least should have happened.

Let’s go round two date for the rematch with povetkin dropping early next week I can’t wait let’s go @eddiehearn @skysportsboxing @matchroomboxing @iqxaviermiller @michael_magichands @sim0nevans #WHYTEPOVETKIN2 #MAXIMUMVIOLENCE2 pic.twitter.com/BMJIorr7ho

— Dillian Whyte (@DillianWhyte) September 5, 2020

Instead, Whyte will be free to carry on training from late September in order to be ready to fight Povetkin in November. Now, you can understand Whyte’s eagerness to put this all behind him and you can absolutely imagine a scenario where he doesn’t get complacent and sees he job though this time around, but the fact of the matter is, he was only recently knocked out in brutal fashion.

That is likely to even the playing fields rather dramatically. Whyte may be a better boxer but he will now be wary of Povetkin’s left uppercut which could hamper his ability to box freely. The last thing any boxer wants to feel in the ring is fear, and Dillian Whyte’s trepidation will be compounded given its not only his long term health on the line but also his boxing career.