Franklin has weight advantage against Whyte

BRITISH heavyweight Dillian Whyte weighed in just under half a stone lighter than American rival Jermaine Franklin ahead of their showdown at the OVO Arena in Wembley tonight.

Londoner Whyte, 34, is fighting for the first time since he was knocked out by Tyson Fury in a WBC world title clash in April.

Franklin, 29, will be looking to extend his undefeated record from 21 fights and put himself in contention for a lucrative payday against one of the divisions leading men.

There is little love lost between the two camps, who were involved in a heated exchange during Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.

Whyte – labelled a “wounded lion wandering the jungle” by Franklin’s trainer Jesse Addison – was pulled away from the face-off after an altercation with the American’s promoter Dmitry Salita.

There was, though, no such drama during the official weigh-in at The Drum Wembley.

Both men sported football shirts of their respective countries.

Franklin topped the scales at 18 stone and five pounds, while Whyte weighed in at 17st 13lbs.

Both fighters calmly posed for pictures before the mandatory stare down, which ended with a mutual thumps up.

Despite being stopped by Fury, Whyte remains hopeful he can again make an impact on the division.

“I still have time and I am still young enough to correct the mistakes and stand in there and have a very good chance of being a world heavyweight champion,” said Whyte, who has been knocked out in two out of his last three fights.