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Dillian Whyte: Career Highlights and Fights

Dillian Whyte, the 32-year-old ‘Brixton Body Snatcher’ won his only professional MMA bout inside 12 seconds in 2008. Along with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte is one of the highest paid British boxers of this generation. These are his career highlights: 

How Dillian Whyte Got His Start?

Career In 2011: 

  • Dillian Whyte made his professional debut on 13 May 2011. He fought Tayar Mehmed and won via points decision (PTS) in the fourth round, obtaining the decision of 40–36. 
  • On 3 December 2011 Whyte defeated Croatian Toni Visic, winning by technical knockout (TKO) in the third round due to referee Jeff Hinds stopping the fight at 1 minute 46 seconds.
  • Dillian Whyte squared off against veteran journeyman Hastings Rasani for his next fight on 21 January 2012 at the Liverpool Olympia in Liverpool. Whyte scored a PTS win based over Rasani, making it his third win on points.
  • Then Dillian Whyte  defeated Bulgarian Kristian Kirilov by TKO in the first round at The Troxy, Limehouse on 2 March 2012, which was followed by an additional TKO in his sixth bout in the first round on 19 May 2012 against Georgian Zurab Noniashvili at the Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool. Whyte went on to fight Hungarian giant Gabor Farkas at the York Hall in London on 7 July 2012, winning by second-round KO; it marked the first KO victory in Whyte’s professional career.
  • Two months later on 15 September 2012, Whyte challenged former British heavyweight champion Mike Holdens to a bout scheduled for six rounds. 
  • The same year he fought was against Sandor Balogh, which took place in Bluewater, Greenhithe, Kent on the James DeGale undercard when DeGale fought Hadillah Mohoumadi for the European super-middleweight title on 13 October 2012. Whyte won the bout but was later stripped of the win due to testing positive for banned substances.

Drug Ban In 2012:

  • A sample for an in-competition drugs test that Dillian Whyte had provided after his victory over Hungary’s Sandor Balogh on 13 October was examined and subsequently tested positive for the banned stimulant Methylhexaneamine (MHA). 
  • The revelation came while Dillian Whyte was en route to a news conference to announce a fight for the English title. 
  • The UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) organisation confirmed that Dillian Whyte was provisionally suspended from all competition from 5 November 2012. An independent National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) found that the case warranted a two-year ban. However, Whyte appealed the ban, though the appeal panel retorted by emphasising the confirmed two-year ban; the tribunal had accepted Dillian Whyte’s claim that he did not knowingly take MHA, but rejected his appeal because he did not do enough to check the supplement’s ingredients, as Charles Flint QC, the chairman of the appeal tribunal, explained in his written verdict.
  • In its first instance decision, the NADP found that Whyte failed to seek professional or medical advice before using the supplement Jack3d, which he had bought over the counter from a nutritional supplement shop. Consequently, they stated that he had “failed to discharge the burden of establishing that he was not significantly at fault” and therefore could not reduce his sanction from two years. The appeal panel agreed with this decision, stressing that the case emphasised “the dangers of athletes taking supplements which contain MHA”.
  • Dillian Whyte was thereby banned from all competition with a period of ineligibility from 13 October 2012 to 12 October 2014, and the result against Balogh disqualified. As Whyte and company exercised the right to appeal under article 13.4.1, they had no further right to appeal under the rules.

Dillian Whyte  Returns To Boxing In 2014:

  • Dillian Whyte was cleared to compete from 12 October 2014, since his two-year ban by UKAD and returned to boxing on 21 November 2014 at the Camden Centre in London to fight Ante Verunica, a fight which lasted all of two rounds as Whyte delivered a hard shot that forced a stoppage from referee Jeff Hindsfor a TKO victory. On 28 November, one week after his fight with Verunica, Whyte returned to the Camden Centre and put on another dominating display stopping Tomas Mrazek, with Whyte knocking the durable Mrazek down three times in the third round.
  • On 20 December 2014, Whyte scored another TKO win, this time over heavyweight hope Kamil Sokolowski in three rounds at the City Hall in Hull. Whyte followed up his Sokolowski win with a KO victory over Marcelo Luiz Nascimento on 7 February 2015 at the Camden Centre to which the Brazilian had never been stopped as quickly in his career.
  • Whyte’s next fight after Nascimento was against undefeated Beka Lobjanidze, which took place on 28 February in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, on the undercard of The World Is Not Enough Belfast boxing card featuring Carl Frampton’s defense against Christopher Avalos for the IBF junior-featherweight title. Whyte scored a fourth-round stoppage over Lobjanidze in a scheduled ten-round bout, as Whyte landed a hard left to the side of the head which sent Lobjanidze to the canvas and he was unable to beat referee Phil Edwards’ count at 1 minute 10 seconds of round four, winning by KO.
  • On 1 August 2015, Whyte faced Irineu Beato Costa Junior, at the KC Lightstream Stadium in Hull, on the undercard of Rumble on the Humber featuring Luke Campbell’s clash against Tommy Coyle in a WBC lightweight eliminator.  Whyte sent the Brazilian crashing backwards to the canvas, and referee Michael Alexander stopped the fight with 2 minutes 41 seconds remaining in the first round as Whyte put Costa back to the floor with a right hand.
  • Following his victory over Costa, it was announced that Dillian Whyte would face Brian Minto at The O2 Arena for the WBC International Silver heavyweight title on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s title clash with Gary Cornish on 12 September. He defeated Minto by KO in the third round, having already knocked him down once in the first round.

Dillian Whyte vs. Anthony Joshua: 

  • On 14 September 2015, it was announced that Whyte would fight old rival Anthony Joshua for the vacant British heavyweight title on 12 December at The O2 Arena in London on Sky Sports Box Office. It was vacated as a result of Tyson Fury taking a break from the sport due to personal reasons. 
  • Joshua was able to use his power to hurt Whyte in the first round. He appeared hurt again in the second round but was able to catch Joshua with a counterpunch and follow it up, leaving Joshua visibly shaken. 
  • Whyte also landed several body shots towards the end of the round. This continued somewhat in the third round with Joshua still looking tired and stiff legged. As the rounds went on, Joshua regained his composure and took control. 
  • Whyte took many hard shots before coming back with his own, his chin has since been lauded by critics. Whyte was rocked again in the seventh round from a heavy right hand to the temple. Joshua was able to follow through and landed an uppercut that put Whyte down through the ropes and knocked him out.
  • Following the loss to Joshua, Dillian Whyte fought at the First Direct arena in Leeds on 30 July against David Allen for the vacant WBC International heavyweight title. In what was expected to be a tough fight for Whyte, the fight went the full ten-round distance. Whyte won the fight with a comfortable UD, with the judges scoring the fight 100–90, 100–91, and 99–91.

Dillian Whyte vs. Chisora:

  • Dillian Whyte and Chisora had been feuding over the years through social media. 
  • At a press conference on 7 December, following Whyte’s comment that he’d attack Chisora anytime he saw him after the fight, Chisora picked up the table he was sitting at and threw it towards Whyte, just missing everyone in the way which included the promoters and trainers. 
  • In a contest in which both fighters were hurt, with Chisora and Whyte showing a lot of heart, Whyte won via split decision (SD). Two judges scoring the fight 115–113 and 115–114 for Whyte, and one scoring 115–114 in favour of Chisora. Post fight, Whyte stated he would not give Chisora a rematch but changed his mind later saying he would be open to a rematch.
  • In April 2017 it was announced that Whyte would headline a card at The O2 Arena on 3 June 2017. 

Whyte vs. Helenius:

  • On 15 October, Hearn announced Whyte vs. Helenius. Whyte failed to impress as he defeated Helenius over twelve rounds via UD. The scorecards read 119–109 twice, and 118–110 all in favour of Whyte. Helenius started the fight well, hurting Whyte in the second round. Whyte bounced back and dominated the remainder of the fight with Helenius reluctant to throw anything meaningful to win the rounds. With the win, Whyte claimed the vacant WBC Silver heavyweight title, moving him a step closer to fighting world champion Wilder.

Career From 2018

Whyte vs. Browne: 

  • On 11 January 2018, a fight between Dillian Whyte and Lucas Browne (25–0, 22 KOs) was finally made, to take place at The O2 Arena in London on 24 March. Whyte’s WBC Silver title would be at stake. Speaking of the fight, Whyte said, “I can’t wait, I hate Lucas Browne and I want to hurt him. He’s said some nasty things and he’s going to have to pay for them.”
  • Whyte hit Browne with a hard left hook to the head in the round six to knock him unconscious, winning the fight. There was no count made and the fight was waved off immediately with ringside doctors attending to Browne before giving him oxygen. The fight was officially stopped at 37 seconds of the round. Browne’s face was cut and badly swollen from the clean shots landed from Whyte. Browne left himself open most of the time and tried switching stances after a few rounds. Browne suffered a cut over his left eye in round three, which got worse with each round. Whyte then bloodied Browne’s nose in round five. After the fight, Browne was stretchered from the ring and taken to a nearby hospital for precaution.

Whyte vs. Parker 

  • On the morning of 7 June, it was confirmed that Whyte would fight former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (24–1, 18 KOs) on 28 July at The O2 Arena in London on Sky Box Office. An official press conference followed a few hours later. Many fans took to social media stating their frustration around the fight being on pay-per-view. Whyte, along with Parker’s promoter David Higgins, explained their reasons as to why the fight deserved to be on the PPV platform. 
  • The fight itself was praised by fans for the match up, with it being billed as an eliminator for the winner to challenge Anthony Joshua for the unified heavyweight titles. A couple of days before the fight, it was confirmed a sell-out. It was revealed that before PPV revenue, both boxers would earn just over £1 million for the fight, with Whyte receiving slightly more, being the home fighter. Despite stating he would weigh less, Dillian Whyte came in at 258½ pounds, 4 pounds heavier than his previous bout. Parker weighed 242 pounds, 16 pounds lighter than Whyte, however 6 pounds heavier than what he weighed in his loss to Joshua.
  • Whyte won the bout via UD in a fight which saw both boxers hit the canvas. Whyte knocked Parker down twice in the fight, dropping him in rounds two and nine. It looked as though a short left hook dropped Parker for the first time in his career, however the instant replay showed it was a clash of heads. Referee Ian John Lewis made the count. The three judges scored the fight unanimously 115–110, 114–111, and 113–112 in favour of Whyte. 

Whyte vs. Chisora II

  • In mid October 2018, Whyte and Luis Ortiz appeared to have a war of words and called each other out, with Ortiz stating he would come to the UK and fight Whyte on 22 December, a potential PPV date allocated to the possible Whyte vs. Chisora rematch. After hearing this, Chisora came out saying ‘No one wants to see that [Whyte-Ortiz]’, that he was ‘the Money Man’ and Whyte should fight him if he wants to earn more money. Hearn also stated despite Ortiz putting his name forward, Chisora was the front-runner to fight Whyte.
  • On 17 October, it was reported that Chisora had hired former rival David Haye as his new manager. They also stated that Chisora will no longer go by the name ‘Del Boy’ and would now be ‘WAR’. On 22 October, Whyte told Sky Sports that Chisora needed to sign a deal quick or he would look at other options.On 1 November, the rematch was announced to take place on 22 December at The O2 Arena on Sky Sports Box Office.
  • Whyte won by KO in the eleventh round, from a powerful left hook. Whyte had luck in the early rounds, catching Chisora, but Chisora continued to work away, and received two warnings for low blows on Whyte, which arguably switched the tempo of the fight. After the win, Whyte called out Anthony Joshua and then stormed off mid-discussion.

Whyte vs. Rivas

  • On 20 July 2019, Whyte and Rivas fought for the vacant WBC interim heavyweight title. The fight took place at The O2 Arena in London. It was agreed the winner of the fight would become the mandatory for the WBC title held by Deontay Wilder, even though Whyte had held the WBC’s number one ranking for over a year. During the first few rounds of the fight, Rivas walked forward while Dillian Whyte used his long jab to keep him at bay. 
  • Whyte was rocked by Rivas a few times but came back quickly with his own combinations that made Rivas cover up and in the ninth-round Rivas dropped Dillian Whyte which he blamed on him crossing his legs while backing up. 
  • Dillian Whyte went on to win by UD and was later suspended of the WBC interim title after a drugs test came back with inconclusive results. He was later reinstated in December after being fully cleared before the fight against Mariusz Wach.

Whyte vs. Wach

  • On 7 December 2019, Dillian Whyte faced Mariusz Wach on the Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua II undercard. Dillian Whyte won the bout via UD, with two judges scoring the bout 97–93 and the third scoring it 98–93.

More recently, Dillian Whyte seems to be investing in boxing and UFC. Whyte is focused on doubling down on silverware once the coronavirus pandemic eases. “I could knock ANY of their top-ten heavyweights out” he said. 

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