Sports

Dillian Whyte loses world title shot after being knocked out by Alexander Povetkin in shock defeat

Written by MAX FM on August 24, 2020

‘The Body Snatcher’ knocked Povetkin to the canvas twice in the fourth round as he looked to secure a victory that would have seen him earn a world title fight against either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. But Povetkin, 41, responded brilliantly in the next round and knocked Whyte out with a brutal uppercut. Povetkin, speaking through a translator, said: ‘I didn’t think the fight would finish like that.

‘But I was still confident despite going down twice. There wasn’t too much damage. ‘I was watching his fights so I used this combination a lot in training. It’s one of the best punches of my career.’

After a cagey first round, Whyte began to assert his authority in the second, using his jab well and hurting Povetkin with solid body shots. In the fourth round, Russian veteran Povetkin was down twice as Whyte took complete control and suggested he was on the verge of another impressive victory. But Povetkin produced a stunning punch in the next round which knocked out Whyte and the fight was brought to an abrupt finish. Former middleweight world champion Andy Lee told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘I am in shock. That is a sensational upset.

‘That’s heavyweight boxing where one punch can change it all. Whyte was winning the fight but it was a beautiful set-up by Povetkin. ‘Whyte was braced for the body shot and was unprepared for the left hook Povetkin threw. ‘Whyte will be feeling disbelief, it’s the strangest thing when you’ve been knocked unconscious, its a crazy out of body experience, he’ll be asking people what happened.’