Fury vs Whyte
What a cracker we have on St George’s Day as Tyson Fury takes on Dillian Whyte tonight at Wembley Stadium and the two English heavyweights go head to head in front of 90k+ fans
The fight itself is live on BT Sports Box office with the coverage kicking off from 6pm although the undercard does look a bit underwhelming. Ekow Essuman takes on Darren Tetley in what looks the pick of the support act but the main event is likely to get underway at around 10pm and many will probably skip the undercard completely.
Fury has had some great ring walks in the past so I'm sure he'll have something big planned for his great UK return even though the build up hasn't really had the usual fireworks we've come to expect from these two. The tag line 'no hype needed' seems to have been followed by both camps with big John Fury being the lively exception.
It is 4 years since Fury fought on home soil and this is arguably one of the biggest UK heavyweight clashes in a long time even if its not 'the one' we all really wanted to see. Whyte has waited patiently for his shot at the title and has earned a lot of peoples respect along the way but the unbeaten Fury looks a class above any one he has been in with. We've all seen what Tyson can do but will this be a routine walk in the park? The bookies have him at around 1/5 with Whyte around 7/2 so it would be a shock if Whyte could take this one. He has been quietly going about his business and this could well be a very smart move, it would be madness to get in to a battle of the mind games with Fury. He's a natural born entertainer and we've seen plenty of his wild antics over the years so keeping away from that seems sensible. But can Whyte bring anything to the ring to really trouble the Gypsy King?
Crucially Whyte has never lacked self belief, he will come in to this with a genuine feeling that he can trouble Fury and the tactics here from both camps could really prove the key. I would like to see Whyte come out and really put it on Fury, make it a bit more of a slug fest and unload some of that power he clearly holds. But Fury is a very smart boxer and has amazing footwork for a man his size. He may well realise that going toe to toe with Whyte doesn't play to his strengths, and with Fury's reach advantage I'm expecting him to keep Whyte at distance and box from behind that jab. This could frustrate Whyte and the slight criticism I might have of him is the potential to switch off even just for a few seconds, as was seen to devastating effect when getting knocked out by Povetkin. He can't afford to give Fury anything although it is debatable if Fury carries the same one punch power of a Povetkin.
On the betting front this looks like a late stoppage could be on the cards and I think Fury will stop Whyte. Fury to win in round 9-12 is 3/1 with Skybet with rounds 5-8 a touch shorter at 11/4. I do think it could be somewhere in that region, possibly between 7 and 10 for me.
Skybet also go 10/1 for both fighters to be knocked down with Fury to win in round 8-12 which looks a decent shout at a bigger price. Whyte certainly has the power so there is a chance that Fury does go down at some point.
If you fancy Whyte to spring an upset then the 7/2 for the win is actually worth a small punt and as a real outsider bet, how about a complete shock with Whyte to win in rounds 7-9 and Fury to be knocked down at least twice at a huge 66/1.
My money is on Fury but I don't think this will be an easy night and whilst it won't make for the best spectacle, a Fury points win is 9/4 and that wouldn't be the worst bet I've seen.
Hopefully though we see some fireworks and a knockout finish!