WHYTE VAN MAN
Staying in a motorhome and fighting in a back garden has not blunted motivation says reinvigorated Dillian
AS BOXING locations go, staying in a motorhome by the side of the M25 while preparing to fight in your promoter’s back garden could hardly be more bizarre for Dillian Whyte.
But the ‘Brixton Body Snatcher’ could not be more motivated to take on Russian Alexander Povetkin behind closed doors tonight in the final week of Matchroom’s Fight Camp.
The WBC have promised Whyte a shot at the winner of Tyson Fury’s trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder if he wins – and he feels his career is back on track after the most difficult year of his life.
Whyte fell into depression when he failed a drugs test last summer and spent five months fearing for his world title dream before being cleared by UKAD.
Now the WBC’s interim champion, who has been their No1 contender for nearly three years, feels his world title shot is finally within reach.Whyte said: “It’s all good here. They call me the Black Traveller because I’m staying in a motorhome!
“I haven’t got any motivational issues. The whole of last year for me was a write-off. I had a lot of issues going on and different things on my mind. I was fighting for my career. My status as a fighter, my credibility as a person was a shambles, but now I am in a good place.
“I’m back where I should be and I want to shine against a good fighter.”
Whyte, 32, claims spending lockdown training in Portugal helped him turn his life around as he lost the weight he had put on when he was depressed. He drove to Portugal with his three dogs, stopping every two hours on the 40-hour odyssey to let them exercise, because he did not want to transport his beloved pets by air.
“Portugal was good for me,” he said. “I was able to train and able to shift some unwanted weight, which I had gained last year because my career and life were in tatters. It was what I needed to be honest.”
Anthony Joshua, who will be summarising the fight on Sky Sports Box Office, does not think Whyte can emulate him by knocking out Povetkin.
“It will go to a points decision,” said the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight king. “Povetkin is a seriously skilled heavyweight.”
Whyte would love to prove his old rival wrong.
He said: “He’s a very aggressive fighter, he knows how to fight. He might try to go early, let’s see what happens. I’m prepared for a 12-round war or a boxing fight.”