After years of waiting Dillian Whyte finally gets his shot at the WBC World Heavyweight Championship on April 23rd against Tyson Fury.
I’ve personally really enjoyed the build-up, or lack thereof on Whyte’s part, to this fight. Whyte is more than capable of holding his own in the trash talking stakes, but Fury is odds on to outdo almost anyone in that department – so why engage and end up tying yourself up in knots before the fight has even started!
Stylistically this fight is almost identical to Fury’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder albeit I think Whyte is a better overall boxer than Wilder. Fury is the ultimate boxer again facing someone with a puncher’s chance.
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Saturday 23rd April: Tyson Fury v Dillian Whyte
TV: BT Sport Box Office (ring walks after 10pm)
Tyson Fury by Points or Decision
I feel like I’m going back to the well on this one as for a long time Fury was your classic awkward counterpuncher. However, since linking with Sugar Hill and Andy Lee he has taken a much more front-footed approach. In the second and third Wilder fights he didn’t so much weather the storm as he did ride into it. Rather than trying to stay on the outside and evade Wilder’s power that way, he elected to get in Wilder’s face and negate his power that way. What those fights showed is that Fury can likely win in whatever fashion he so pleases.
I’m still very sceptical about backing Fury to beat anyone via KO/TKO at odds on. His knockout victories over Wilder were a result of a sustained breaking down of Wilder’s will and less Fury’s one-punch knockout power. Whyte has shown himself to have a good chin in the past, although some of the wars he has been through will eventually take their toll in that regard, and I don’t think he will be too worried about Fury’s punching power.
The Body Snatcher will want to turn this fight into a phone box tear-up so I think the path of least resistance for Fury here is to box and move and simply outpoint Whyte. The Gypsy King had his brain rocked several times by Wilder and while his chin more than held up, he won’t, or shouldn’t, be looking to wade back into that fire anytime soon. If Wilder can land those shots on Fury, then I believe Whyte can as well. The path that offers least resistance is the best way to go about winning any fight and at the current odds I think Fury points or decision is a nice bit of value.
Tyson Fury to win in Rounds 9-12
This bet comes from a similar line of thinking to the above. I can’t have Fury KO/TKO at odds on and if you look at his knockout victories over Wilder they came because of a sustained breakdown over the course of the fight. I think this bet is a nice way of juicing up the Fury KO/TKO angle to a more attractive price.
If this selection is to win, I think it would mean the fight looking very similar to the third Wilder bout. Whyte is much more of a slugger and will offer more variety in his punches than Wilder, however Fury will have Whyte’s number for the lion’s share of the fight. Given the dominance he’s likely it’s not hard to envisage Fury having Whyte out on his feet come the latter stages of the fight.
Like I mentioned earlier, his new front foot style means he is just constantly touching you and touching you with shots that aren’t necessarily meant to be that single fight finishing punch. Moreover, they give your opponent so many different looks that it’s almost impossible for them to get a read on what might be coming next. Fury is a master of this. It’s not always the prettiest but it is amazingly effective, and I think it may well lead to a late KO here.
Tyson Fury v Dillion Whyte betting tips
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