WARRIOR WHYTE PASSES THE TEST
FOR around an hour we sat in the dressing room, waiting for five more minutes with the victor. It was the early hours of yesterday morning and Dillian Whyte had just climbed off the canvas to beat Oscar Rivas over 12 brutal rounds in London. But already the Brixton heavyweight had another task on his hands: to satisfy the on-hand drug testers. Drained in the wake of a ferocious battle, Whyte glugged bottle after bottle of water to rehydrate his body enough to provide a urine sample and begin the post-fight celebrations in earnest. Across the corridor, the awaiting media stayed patient until word reached us that Whyte had left the arena altogether. It seemed he was in no mood for hanging around. In truth, it was hard to blame him. The 31-year-old spent more than 600 days as the WBC’s No 1 challenger but only with victory over the dangerous Rivas did he guarantee himself a shot at the title. He reportedly turned down more than £4million to face Anthony Joshua earlier this year but now it seems that high-stakes gamble will pay off handsomely. Whyte remains cynical, though. With WBC king Deontay Wilder set for rematches with both Luis Ortiz and Tyson Fury before the middle of next year, the Body Snatcher knows the waiting is far from over. ‘This is boxing. People talk a lot, but when it comes to it, not a lot gets done,’ he said earlier. ‘I’m the mandatory challenger now, but I’ve already been the No 1 contender for over 600 days. Maybe being mandatory means I have to wait another 600 days! Who knows what will happen? I will fight again in November or December and then we’ll see.’ After punishing wins over Joseph Parker and Derek Chisora, Whyte went through another war against Rivas, who dropped him with a huge uppercut in round nine. He recovered to win on the scorecards, and did so with a makeshift pair of gloves after, incredibly, his pair were given to a fighter on the undercard. ‘I am getting on a bit now so I don’t want to waste time,’ he added. The clock has already been ticking for some time.