Who Will be Dillian Whyte's Next Opponent & What Next for Him?

Dillian Whyte got his career back on track last Saturday with a win against the man who derailed his title challenge, Alexander Povetkin, in Gibraltar. In a unique event, “The Body Snatcher” hurt Povetkin early and looked as if he was going to get a first-round knockout, but composed himself, waited for the opportunity to present itself and finished the fight in the fourth round.

But, with both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua being tied up to a two-fight deal, Whyte will have to wait to challenge for a belt and in this article, and we will be looking at who could potentially be his next opponent.

After two fights between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin, the score is 1-1, with both fighters having knocked out the other. In the post-fight interview on Saturday night, Whyte offered Povetkin the third fight to complete the trilogy, which would be another big payday and another war.

However, after being knocked down twice in the first fight and a disappointing performance in the rematch, Povetkin would be a big underdog in a third fight and may not believe he has what it takes to beat Whyte, especially at the age of 41.

The Russian could well think it is time to hang up his gloves or certainly take an easier fight to end his career on a win rather than taking up Whyte on his offer.

Mexican heavyweight, Andy Ruiz, is also attempting to make a comeback to prove himself as one of the best fighters in the division, with a fight booked against Chris Arreola on 1st May. Ruiz Jr will go into the bout as a clear favourite and will be expected to knock Arreola out, especially amid rumours of his improvement since joining Canelo’s gym.

If he gets through this fight with ease, then a fight with Whyte in the summer could well be on the cards. Many people call the his win over Anthony Joshua a fluke, particularly after he was outboxed in the rematch, but Ruiz will be keen to ensure he gets a chance to win back the belts that he lost in Saudi Arabia to Joshua and a win over Whyte would make him almost unavoidable to the winner of Joshua vs Fury.

Another option for Dillian Whyte could be a fight with Deontay Wilder, who many people feel is the hardest hitting boxer in the history of the sport. Eddie Hearn mentioned that he wants Whyte to fight in the USA during the summer and even mentioned Wilder’s name.

“The Bronze Bomber” is yet to fight since his defeat to Tyson Fury last February and has exchanged words with Whyte on social media since and will know that a win over the man from Brixton would be a statement to the rest of the division that he is still a title contender.

This is probably the fight that makes the most sense of all the options as it is a real test for both Whyte and Wilder and a win for either of them would be the biggest of their career so far. Currently, Whyte is priced at the 6/4 underdog in a potential fight between the two, with Wilder the 1/2 favourite.

Although Oleksandr Usyk has had just two fights in the heavyweight division, his pedigree in the amateurs as well as in the cruiserweight division make him a fighter that many heavyweights will want to avoid. But Joe Joyce seems to be the man who has stepped up to the challenge, with a fight announcement imminent.

Joyce shocked the division with a win over hot prospect Daniel Dubois last year and has proven that he is someone that you can never write off. Whoever wins this fight will undoubtedly have a lot of hype around them and therefore could become the perfect opponent for Whyte, in what would be an even contest regardless of the winner.

The stumbling block for this potential fight is that Hearn wants the fight to be in the USA, most likely in Las Vegas and neither Usyk or Joyce would be the best option in terms of box office and pay per view buys.

However, maybe ultimately it will be up to Whyte to decide who he wants to fight and a win over either Usyk or Joyce would certainly provide a huge boost to his reputation.

By Tom Eaton