Dillian Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) completely dominated interim WBC heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (36-3-1, 25 KOs) in defeating him by a fourth-round knockout on Saturday night in their rematch at Gibraltar.
Whyte knocked Povetkin down with a powerful left hook to the head in the fourth round. The 41-year-old Povetkin rose on unsteady legs, and the fight was then waived off by the referee when he saw the condition he was in. The time of the stoppage was at 2:39 of the fourth.
Povetkin was lucky to make it out of the first round after getting badly staggered by a hard right hand from Whyte. ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte barely missed Povetkin with several huge looping punches that had knockout written all over them.
Povetkin was never there after the first round, his legs looking rubbery, and power not there. It wasn’t the same Povetkin that we had seen from the first fight. Whether that was due to him having recently battled through a bout with COVID 19 is anyone’s guess. All we can say is Povetkin didn’t look right.
Fabio Wardley vs. Eric Molina
Heavyweight prospect Fabio Wardley (11-0, 10 KOs) had a bit of difficulty with 38-year-old former two-time world title challenger Eric Molina (27-7, 19 KOs) before closing the show with a fifth-round knockout.
Molina had Wardley visibly hurt after tagging him with a right hand to the head, which sent him retreating across the ring.
While Molina was trying to finish Wardley, he was nailed by a right that appeared to hit him in the back of the head.
The impact of the punch to the back of Molina’s head sent him down on the canvas. The time of the stoppage was at 52 seconds of the fifth.
“Sometimes I get bored with tactics and I get stuck into a war,” said Wardley after the fight.
“If you want to go toe-to-toe? I felt it, I needed a test. But I’ll meet you if you want to go toe-to-toe.”
Ted Cheeseman vs. James Metcalf
In an exciting war, Ted Cheeseman (17-2-1, 10 KOs) really put it on James Metcalf (21-1, 13 KOs), battling him tooth & nail to score an 11th round knockout to win the vacant British 154-lb title.
Cheeseman flattened Metcalf in the 11th round after nailing him with a right followed by a big left hook. Metcalf was too hurt to get back up, and the fight was promptly stopped at 3:10 of the round.
“That’s the best I’ve boxed ever. I’m No 1 on the British scene,” said Cheeseman.
“I was fresher than ever tonight. I could have done 15 rounds. Now I’m mixing it. I fight when I need to, box when I need to.”
Campbell Hatton vs. Jesus Ruiz
Making his pro debut, super featherweight Campbell Hatton (1-0) defeated Jesus Ruiz (0-11) by a competitive four-round points decision.
The score was 40-36. Campbell, the son of former two-division world champion Ricky Hatton, looked good when punching to the body, particularly with his left hooks.
He hurt Ruiz in the fourth round with a perfectly placed left to the body. Ruiz backed off and was able to survive the round, but he was definitely hunting from the shot.
What’s not to like about the performance was how frequently Campbell was hit by Ruiz. He got hit too much for my liking, and that’s something he will absolutely need to fix before he starts fighting better opposition.
Another area that Campbell needs to improve is with his punching power.
He didn’t look particularly powerful, and he’ll improve in that area or he’ll have a difficult time when he goes up a level. Ricky Hatton was a good puncher, but Campbell hasn’t inherited his power.
Chris Kongo vs. Michael McKinson
Michael McKinson (20-0, 2 KOs) relentlessly attacked WBO Global welterweight champion Chris Kongo (12-1, 7 KOs), beating him by a 10 round unanimous decision.
McKinson’s wild rushing style of fighting had Kongo guessing the entire fight, wondering when he would attack with his charging manner. It’s a style that you don’t see often at any level, but it worked for McKinson, just barely.
In the first round, McKinson knocked Kongo down with a shot to the head while he was stumbling from having gotten his legs entangled. The referee failed to see Kongo tripping on McKinson’s leg.
The judges scored it 97-93, 96-94, 95-94.
Nick Webb vs. Erik Pfeifer
British heavyweight Nick Webb (17-2, 13 KOs) showed off his power punching in destroying German heavyweight Erik Pfeifer (7-1, 5 KO) by a three-knockdown, second-round knockout.
Webb, 33, finished Pfeifer with a chopping right hand to the head in the second. The referee then stepped in and stopped the contest.
Preview:
Dillian Whyte (27-2, 18 KO) tries to avenge his defeat to former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs) tonight in a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN and Sky Box Office in their rematch at Gibraltar.
This should be an interesting card, particularly the main event between the highly ranked Whyte, 32, and Povetkin.
The action starts at 2:00 p.m. ET. Boxing 247 will be giving updates on the results of the card below for the fans eager to find out how the fights are going.
This is a do-or-die fight for Dillian, who absolutely needs this win to resurrect his shattered career and to keep him in the chase for a world title shot against the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight.
Although Whyte is the younger, bigger, and more powerful fighter than the 41-year-old Povetkin, his defense is porous, and he’s utterly wide open for anything that the Russian fighter throws at him.
Whyte got away with having the dreadful defense in the first four rounds against the more technical Povetkin, but in the fifth, he was smashed to bits in getting knocked clean-out.
Fights on the Povetkin vs. Whyte 2 card:
- Fabio Wardley vs. Eric Molina – 12 round heavyweight
- Ted Cheeseman vs. James Metcalf – 12 round battle for the vacant British 154-lb title
- Chris Kongo vs. Michael McKinson – welterweights
- Erik Pfeifer vs. Nick Webb – 10 rounds heavyweights
- Youssef Khoumari vs. Kane Baker – 10 rounds super featherweights
- Campbell Hatton vs. Jesus Ruiz – 4 rounds lightweight
“He had to get his backside up off the floor to do it,” said Teddy Atlas about Povetkin’s win over Dillian Whyte last August at Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Fight Camp in Brentwood Essex. “All the credit in the world to him [Povetkin].
“But you’re going to go back to that; those things aren’t going to disappear,” said Atlas about the flaws in the 41-year-old Povetkin’s game. “He’s still going to be vulnerable, he’s still going to get hurt, and he’s even older now.
“He’s [Povetkin] even made more money now, if that works into it a little bit, and he’s only there for the fight because he’s getting paid really good. I’m not saying he’s going to cooperate; Povetkin has too much character for that.
“He’s going to come prepared, he’s going to behave like a champion, but he’s going to be that guy that was there in the last fight that was vulnerable earlier, that’ going to get hurt [by Whyte]. The only difference this time is Whyte is going to close the show and wind up stopping him.
“Whyte’s people need to undo what was done,” Atlas said about Dillian being knocked out last August by Povetkin. “If they’re ever going to get to that Joshua vs. Fury fight, or to where they can call themselves a titleholder or interim champion.
“All you need to do is look at the line, really. He [Povetkin] knocks a guy cold, and he’s a huge underdog again [against Whyte]. That’s all you got to do is look at the line. He took advantage of a vulnerability.
“First of all, Povetkin took advantage of a vulnerability in a high-level way. He took advantage of a flaw in Whyte, and Whyte has been hurt in a lot of fights,” said Atlas.
