rish fighting legend Barry McGuigan was, like so many of us, impressed by Alexander Povetkin’s brilliantly well-place left uppercut bomb – the shot the Russian landed almost a week ago to wreck Dillian Whyte. Writing in hs regular column for The Mirror, the former featherweight king says Povetkin is a “1960s/70s throwback to the 16st stylist.”
McGuigan says “no fighter in the world would have taken that shot,” and he is fascinated to see if Whyte can bounce back. “People love a knockout, and a comeback,” he writes.
As fans know, Whyte wants an immediate rematch with Povetkin and Povetkin says he is willing to face the Brit again. McGuigan says that heavyweights have the ability to come back from a devastating KO more so than do the smaller weight fighters and that a Povetkin-Whyte II will be huge and full of intrigue. It will indeed. Can Whyte get revenge, thus putting himself back in world title contention, or will the tough, clever, experienced and powerful Povetkin repeat his handi-work?
Like plenty of other people, McGuigan was impressed by Whyte in the first four rounds on Saturday night.
“The irony is Whyte was performing so well, giving one of the most accomplished performances of his career, McGuigan writes. “He wasn’t reckless. He fought with an educated jab and put his punches together well for four rounds.He had Povetkin over twice. It just shows, if you switch off for a second it’s over at this level. What a sequence it was. Jab, rapid weight transfer to the left, dip, bang, over and out.”
McGuigan is now interested to see how “psychology plays out.” Whyte may or may not be damaged as a result of what happened to him. McGuigan is leaning towards not. “A knockout does not seem to be as damaging to the big boys as it is for those in the lighter weights,” he writes.
So can Whyte get revenge over Povetkin? “It won’t be easy,” McGuigan says. “There is plenty of jeopardies, but Whyte will be encouraged by the work he did. He just has to finish the job.”
Was Povetkin’s win a fluke, or a superbly set up trap? What we can all agree on is this: no way does a rematch go the distance. Once again the fight will end by KO. One way or the other.
