There are just days to go until Dillian Whyte squares off against Moses Itauma, and Tyson Fury has shared what he has heard from one camp.
Fury got up close and personal with Whyte in the ring back in 2022 at Wembley when Whyte got his long-awaited shot at a world title. It ended with the challenger being knocked out by an uppercut in the 6th round.
Shortly after, Whyte scored a laboured points win over Jermaine Franklin and then, instead of a rematch with Anthony Joshua, Whyte failed a drug test late in the day. He spent the next 18 months out of the ring clearing his name and proving it was a contaminated supplement that meant he failed the test. He was cleared and allowed to box on in 2024, when he beat both Christian Hammer and Ebenezer Tetteh.
This weekend is his first fight of the year and is a big challenge against the hungry and talented Itauma, who has stopped 10 of his 12 opponents so far and been tipped as a future world champion by Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Speaking recently to the media, Fury shared what he has heard from Whyte’s camp after some in the boxing world felt that his former opponent was taking this fight mainly for the money. ‘The Gypsy King’ confirms that is not the case.
“Yeah, that’s a fu**ing good fight actually, especially for Moses. I think it’s a very good time to fight Dillian, he’s had a couple of years out of the ring. But make no mistakes, Dillian is a massive puncher to head and body, I know he’s taking it very serious. I was speaking to Ty Mitchell who’s in training camp with him.”
Whyte’s condition is further proof he is in Riyadh to cause the upset, looking in the best shape he has for some years. Fury recognised it was a big test for Itauma.
“It’s a massive step up for Moses, he hasn’t really fought anyone on Dillian’s level, the old Dillian of a couple of years ago. It’s going to be interesting to see how much Dillian has left. I think this does have the potential to do what Martin Bakole did to Jared Anderson, maybe it’s too early and maybe he passes with flying colours, and that’s why you have to watch it and find out.”
Whoever comes out on top will put themselves into a great position for a run at a world title in the next 12 months.
