Dillian Whyte’s reign as the WBC’s No. 1 ranked heavyweight is over – and he went down spectacularly on Saturday night.
Alexander Povetkin, after almost losing in the fourth round at Matchroom Fight Camp in England, came up with a massive uppercut knockout just 30 seconds into Round 5, sending Whyte straight to the ground in one of the best knockouts of the year.
“I did not feel like I would finish the fight like that, but I was pretty confident in the fourth round,” Povetkin said, via CBS Sports. “Yeah, I went down twice, but it was not too much damage … I looked at his fights and realized he was missing the capital letter from left and right. That was what I trained for just that shot.”
Povetkin, who turns 41 next month, now has an impressive 36-2-1 record. The loss marked Whyte’s first since falling back to Anthony Joshua via TKO back in 2015. He had won 11 straight times since then, with his last win coming in December against Mariusz Wach.
Whyte, who has held the WBC interim heavyweight title for more than three years, has already lured in the rematch clause and hopes to fight Povetkin in December, he said after the game.
“We have a rematch clause,” said Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, via CBS Sports. “The first thing Dillian said was, ‘Give me that rematch. Give me that rematch.’ It was a heavy knockout, so he will have to recover. We will execute this rematch clause …. He will pass Alexander Povetkin again and I believe he can beat him and bring his No. 1 position back to life. Tonight, this is the ups and downs of boxing. “
