Dillian Whyte has the opportunity to resurrect his dream of becoming a world champion if he can beat Moses Itauma this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
Whyte has had a storied career spanning nearly 15 years and has seen all there is for a boxer to see. After his defeat to Tyson Fury in pursuit of the WBC heavyweight title and a failed rematch with Anthony Joshua, many wrote him off from ever returning to the pinnacle of the sport.
But now faced with one of boxing’s brightest prospects, ‘The Bodysnatcher’ has been given the chance to prove that he is not just a test for Itauma, but a dangerous world title-level fighter.
So, where has Whyte been and what has he done to find himself in this position? Here is a look back at the twists and turns of the tempestuous career of Dillian Whyte.
World title shot
After over 1,000 days as the WBC’s number one contender, Dillian Whyte’s willingness to take on anyone had finally landed him at the top table.
But world titles do not come easy, and Whyte was facing heavyweight king Tyson Fury.
It was the biggest night of Whyte’s career in front of 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, but he fell short.
Everything was against him – height, weight, reach and boxing IQ were all in favour of Fury – and it showed. Whyte could not get close to Fury, who jabbed away Whyte’s chances until a final right uppercut ended the fight.
Whyte fought again that year, beating Jermaine Franklin, but came into the fight out of shape and seemingly unbothered.
He then had a year of his career stolen from him in 2023 when he returned an adverse finding in a drug test before his big-money rematch with Anthony Joshua, which he was eventually found innocent of.
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It has been a career so far that has been marked by setbacks.
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Professional debut and early controversy
The controversies began before he was even a professional boxer. Whyte was a promising prospect as an amateur, with a win over his future rival, Anthony Joshua, but as ‘AJ’ went on to join the Great British Olympic team, Whyte turned pro in 2011 after a dispute with England Boxing regarding his history as a professional kickboxer.
Whyte made a promising start, going undefeated through his first nine professional fights with six knockouts. But in 2012, before he was expected to fight for the English heavyweight title, he was handed a two-year ban for having a banned substance in his system during his fight with Sandor Balogh.
Anthony Joshua grudge match
After serving his ban, Whyte returned to knock out his next five opponents and collected his first trinket by beating Brian Minto for the vacant WBC international silver title in 2015.
Whyte had clawed his way back into the WBC rankings. It was this rise through the ranks that opened up a second instalment of the Joshua-Whyte rivalry.
The fight was made, and it was for the British, Commonwealth and WBC international heavyweight titles.
The vitriol in the build-up made the fight a fan favourite, and it more than delivered on the violence promised by both men.
The pair went to war for seven rounds, exchanged volleys of vicious punches, before Whyte eventually succumbed after a right uppercut from Joshua parted the air and then removed Whyte from his senses.
The rebuild and becoming a pay-per-view star
After daring to take on one of the best prospects in British heavyweight history, Whyte had to once again claw his way back onto the big stage.
He strung together an impressive string of victories over Dave Allen, Derek Chisora and his first headline pay-per-view show against Joseph Parker, surviving a late 12th-round knockdown from the former world champion.
Another two consecutive headline shows followed against Derek Chisora, closing out the rivalry with a devastating 11th round knockout. There was then a somewhat lacklustre win over Oscar Rivas to become WBC interim champion.
Alexander Povetkin loss and retribution
Whyte looked on track to finally get the title shot he had toiled so patiently for, but he first had to beat Alexander Povetkin during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Looking well on his way to a comfortable knockout win, a left uppercut from Povetkin handed Whyte the second loss of his careeras he looked to be knocking on the door of a world title.
After demanding an immediate rematch, Whyte proved exactly why he had done so and made no mistakes – running through Povetkin in four rounds to re-take his position in the queue for Tyson Fury’s WBC belt.
One last shot at the big time
Whyte is no stranger to pulling a rabbit out of a hat, having made numerous comebacks from losses and controversy. But suppose he can once again weather the storm of adversity and come out of the other side victorious or at least put on a memorable show against Itauma, he can re-establish himself in the heavyweight division.
Buddy McGirt, Whyte’s trainer, said that this fight is one of the most important of Whyte’s career because if he cannot pull off the upset, he risks becoming just another gatekeeper on the journey of young prospects.
McGirt said, “There is no tomorrow after this for Dillian. If you lose a fight like this, then you just become a stepping stone for younger guys. This is his championship fight.”
To try and give himself the best chance of rejoining the top table, Whyte has undergone an intense training camp in Portugal, utilising a variety of sprint, strength and power work to leave himself in career-best shape and said he is ready to show that he “may be an old wolf”, but he can still bite.
Whyte said: “They’re trying to feed the old wolf to the young wolf. I may be an old wolf, but my teeth are still sharp. I carry power in both hands; I’m sure he does the same, so let’s see. I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. “
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