On Saturday, August 22, in a fight streamed live on DAZN on the US and Sky Sports Box Office in the UK from Matchroom Fight Camp in Brentwood, England, 32-year-old Dillian Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs), the eternal WBC interim heavyweight champion from Brixton by way of Port Antonio, Jamaica, goes head-to-head with 40-year-old Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KOs), the former heavyweight champion from Chekhov, Russia, in a 12-round elimination bout.

 

Whyte should do the eliminating. If he stops Povetkin, a mandatory shot against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury awaits him, according to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman. 

 

Whyte will believe it when he sees it.

 

He told Sky Sports that Povetkin “is a very experienced guy, top of the tree for 15 years, former Olympic gold medalist and world champion. I respect him. I take him seriously. I expect a sharp, focused Povetkin to come into the ring. He is very dangerous and he knows that, if he beats me, his whole life and career is rejuvenated.”

 

If may be a little late for that. But “We know he has a good chin,” said Whyte. “We know he has only lost to reigning world champions, Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko.”

 

Should Povetkin prevail, it will be as if he had found the fountain of youth for one night.

 

“He (Povetkin) is a machine!” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “He is programmed to destroy. He will do everything in his power to do that. There is no quit in him, no backing down. If the machine gets broken down, you can’t conduct the task. That’s what Whyte will do.”

 

Whyte isn’t shy about his gifts, nor is his self-regard inflated.

 

“I learn and adapt as the fight goes on,” he said. “I make adjustments that I need to make. Sometimes I box, sometimes I haven't looked the greatest but I find a way to get the job done. I'm still learning. I don't pretend to be the best heavyweight. But I know what I have, I know what I can do, I know what I'm capable of.”

 

Whyte is capable of stopping Povetkin. Joshua did it in 2018. Now it’s Whyte’s turn, before he turns to bigger and better things.

 

“I'm straight maximum violence,” added Whyte. “I'm coming to cause chaos in the ring. That's one of my secret weapons.

 

“The story of my life is pressure. I’ve been under pressure my entire life. This is just another puzzle. There is more pressure because of the future, but that’s in the future. He’s a tough guy. But listen, if I land early? It is night night early.”