Those fans who saw Dillian Whyte struggle his way to what most felt would have been and should have been a pretty straightforward win over Ebenezer Tetteh have likely all come to the same conclusion: 36 year old Whyte is borderline shot. Looking gassed, taking shots, of the crude, they-shouldn’t-have-landed variety, Whyte looked pretty awful last night.
In the end, the game but, well, crude Tetteh was pulled out after the conclusion of the 7th round. It was a fun but entirely less than pretty affair, one that showed us that, unless he can somehow improve at age 36, this after having had a long and at times tough career, Whyte is done at anything approaching elite level.
But of course Whyte will carry on, and he believes he can and will get himself another big fight next year; with him last week listing his desired opponents for 2025, to include Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Both of those fights seem destined never to happen for Whyte, but already, some boxing sites are listing potential names Whyte, 31-3(21) could actually face next. One site listed Martin Bakole’s name. That fight would, in my opinion, be a disaster for Whyte, and a painful one at that.
Some other suggestions are Whyte being thrown in with a young gun such as Johnny Fisher. But to my mind, if Whyte does carry on (and again, of course he will do so) it should be the seniors tour for him. A third fight with the equally faded yet still game Derek Chisora would be a good and realistic matchup at this stage in Whyte’s career, or maybe Whyte could fight the slow and hittable, yet also still full of heart Joe Joyce?
Whoever he fights next, Whyte has a real chance of losing. Rust may have played a part in his sloppy performance last night, but even taking that possibility into account, it simply isn’t realistic to think Whyte can significantly improve at this late stage of his career.
It should be realistic fights for Whyte from now on, as all the top guys would devour him, as faded and as worn as he is. Whyte has been fun at times, but the end is surely nigh.
Who wins if Whyte and Chisora do collide for a third time?
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