AS with any great heavyweight fight, nobody can say with certainty what will happen when Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte finally share a ring and trade punches on April 23 at Wembley Stadium. They will both have their ideas and their strategies and indeed those watching at home will no doubt have their opinions, too. But this is boxing โ รฉlite-level boxing at that โ and no one watching, nor competing, can predict with confidence what will happen this coming weekend.
Doing their best, for the sake of Boxing News, are three leading UK coaches whose opinions and experiences vary: Jamie Moore, the trainer of Jack Catterall and Chantelle Cameron; Joe Gallagher, the trainer of Paul Butler and Natasha Jonas; and Tunde Ajayi, the trainer of Anthony Yarde. They do not claim to possess a crystal ball, nor any special kind of insight, but they are, like everyone else, intrigued to see what happens on Saturday night.
What have you made of the fightโs unusual build up?
Moore: Last week I was thinking, โIs this even going to happen?โ Weโve heard hardly anything about it and yet itโs such a big fight. I hope it goes ahead and I hope itโs just a case of Dillian Whyte playing mind games and trying to get one on Fury because he knows the size of the task. Any small win is worth pursuing in that sense. Tysonโs very good at mind games and Dillian is trying to beat him at his own game.
Gallagher: If it doesnโt happen, there are going to be so many lawsuits in the next few months. Itโll be a shame really. But it just shows you that [Anthony] Joshua and Fury will never, ever happen. Thatโs gone now. After losing the purse bid for this one, Eddie should have said to Dillian, โLook, thereโs your purse, get on with it. If you need anything, weโre here.โ What shouldnโt have happened is that the fightโs build-up gets ruined. Itโs a good fight and it should be treated like one.
Ajayi: Dillian ainโt even talking to me, so I know heโs serious. In a weird way, itโs great promoting, too, because weโre all talking about it and wondering whether the fight is even going to happen. Dillian not talking has got people talking. I canโt remember in recent times a situation where a fighter has just maintained total silence before a big fight. But that is what Dillian has done and it has created buzz. I have spoken to Dillian and he said, โIโm just turning up to fight. Thatโs it.โ He doesnโt care about anything else. Itโs not like heโs keeping this silence and then wonโt turn up. Heโs definitely turning up.
Will Whyteโs radio silence unsettle Fury or will he not care?
Moore: I think itโs tactical. I think heโs done it on purpose to unnerve Fury. He might be thinking Fury wonโt train as hard as he would have done if there was some needle there. It sometimes gives you fuel when thereโs a bit of needle. But Furyโs had nothing to go on. I definitely think itโs tactical. I donโt necessarily think Whyte is seeing it as an advantage for him, but heโs doing it more to create a disadvantage for Fury. It takes away the chance for Fury to feed off his own ego.
Like anything in life, itโs the unknown thatโs scary. Whyteโs gone off the radar totally, which means that nobody knows what heโs doing. That must be unnerving for Fury while heโs training. If Whyte turns up at the weigh-in and looks better than heโs ever looked, that would really throw Fury, I think.
Gallagher: If Dillian Whyte wins, it was brilliant mind games. Furyโs last few fights have had those head-to-head moments, which have given him the chance to get under the skin of his opponent. When Fury has those moments, he seems to be motivated and stimulated by them. But with this fight he doesnโt have anyone to stimulate him. I wonder if Whyte will turn up and all of a sudden put it on Tyson during fight week. There could be some argy-bargy and some tables flipped, just to try to unsettle Fury. Or Dillian could turn up and say nothing. He could sit there and do a Rubikโs cube or put headphones on.
Ajayi: Far be it for me to say itโs their strategy or game plan, but if it is a strategy, it has definitely worked. Regardless of Tyson and his mentality, he needs an adversary and for this fight he hasnโt had one. He needs to talk. Thatโs part of his DNA. Itโs the reason why his fights with [Deontay] Wilder were won before the first bell. Even back in the day he psyched out David Haye and had him pull out of their fight. Tyson is used to getting the better of mind games and this, having no adversary, gives him something new to deal with.
Where does Whyte rank in terms of the opponents Fury has faced?
Moore: Obviously Wilder is the best opponent recently. I think [Wladimir] Klitschko was at the back end of his career so you canโt really judge him on that, even though he did a good job on him. Dillian Whyte has waited so long for this opportunity, but Iโm not sure whether heโs the best fighter Fury has faced or the second or third. What I do think is that he could very well give him his toughest test, considering the length of time heโs waited, the motivation he will have, and the impact of his mind games on Fury. Added to that, Whyte has a style that has given Fury problems recently. Itโs basic, hands tight, come-forward pressure. Itโs a simple style really. Heโs got a good engine and works the body and I think Whyte can have success with this style.
Gallagher: Fury beat a better version of Klitschko than Joshua did. He was an active heavyweight and Fury beat him in his back garden. That ranks as better than anything anyone else has done. In terms of Wilder, there is no chance Whyte is more dangerous to Fury than him. Wilder is one of the biggest-punching heavyweights of all time. He put Luis Ortiz to sleep, and no one wants to fight Luis Ortiz. If Wilder was as easy as they now say, why didnโt Anthony Joshua or Dillian Whyte fight him during that period? They donโt even want to fight him now Fury has beaten him a couple of times.
Ajayi: Dillian is right up there โ top three. Fury is known for Klitschko and Wilder. But outside of those guys, who can we say has been a threat to Tyson Fury? Nobody. So, Dillian Whyte is a top-tier Fury opponent. Iโm not even sure Wilder could beat Whyte, to be honest with you. His mindset is something different, especially with what he has been through. This is everything to him and that makes him dangerous.
How should Whyte go about trying to beat Fury?
Moore: For a start, I would say, โNever in a million years should you try to outbox him.โ Thatโs not going to happen. His best bet is to try to bring him to his sort of IQ of boxing. Drag him into a war. I always tell my fighters to simplify it. Donโt try to be too intelligent and complicate matters. Hands nice and tight, get into that punching range, nice bit of head movement, get on his chest, and drag him into a dogfight. Do what people say Joshua should have done against [Oleksandr] Usyk. Donโt try to be technical. Use brute force and drag Fury into a fight.
Gallagher: Whyte does well against tall opposition. Heโs won fights against Robert Helenius and Mariusz Wach. He had good success against Anthony Joshua as well, hurting him to the body. I would tell him to bring it to Tyson early on, and not pussy-foot around too much. He canโt afford to let Fury build a lead and then try to โdoโ him down the straight. Tyson will just be tying him up and tiring him out by then. I think when Dillian is up close, he will be hitting everything low and heโll be hitting Tysonโs thighs. Youโve got to stop Tyson moving. You canโt be over-reaching to the head because if you do Tyson will nail you with uppercuts. Dillian will have to come in with a cross-armed defence, a bit like Joe Frazier, and keep moving his head on the way inside. Heโs then got to deaden the legs. Once this happens, and Tysonโs legs have stopped working, he can then start coming over the top with those big swings of his.
Ajayi: Stick it straight on him. No messing about. You ainโt winning a jabbing contest with Tyson Fury. Your best bet is to go hammer and tongs. I think this fight calls for an animalistic approach, something I call โroadman scienceโ. I told AJ he needed that for the Usyk fight, but nobody listens to me. Boxing is about IQ and IQ matters and Tyson Fury has maybe the greatest boxing IQ in this era of heavyweights. Itโs not rocket science. It needs to be a physical, rough, hard fight. Dillian Whyte has one of the best counter left hooks in boxing. At a novice stage, he almost got AJ with it. Heโs way more experienced now and he needs educated aggression in this fight.
How should Fury go about trying to beat Whyte?
Moore: Technically, I think Fury is capable of making this easy. I just donโt think heโll want to. I think heโll want to entertain the fans, especially with it being at Wembley and them apparently selling 94,000 tickets. He wonโt want to fight the way he fought against Klitschko or Wilder in the first fight, where he put on a masterclass but didnโt really entertain. I think heโll do that in spots against Whyte but will then hold his feet and trade.
Gallagher: The jabโs the key. Tyson Fury has got a brilliant jab. All heโs got to make sure is that he doesnโt jab over the front foot and let Dillian bring out the overhand right. Everyone talks about Dillianโs left hook but you donโt want to be too occupied with the left hook because Dillian can also shoot the right hand over the top. Tysonโs just got to be consistent with his jab and make sure that on the second or third jab he doesnโt skim off the target and find himself walking on to a Whyte right hand. He needs to bang that jab hard and make it count. Also, when he throws, claim Whyte as well. Lean on him. Push his body weight down on him. Youโre giving Whyte the chance to hit you in the bollocks or the leg but you will make him feel your size.
Ajayi: Keep him at the end of the jab โ box him, box him, box him. If heโs still there in the later rounds, impose your physical presence. The best pugilist is a boxer-fighter, always. You box first and then, if you have to fight, you fight. Tyson Fury is one of the gifted ones who can do both. He has options. Iโd say, โUse that jab.โ Itโs the key for Tyson. If Tyson Fury comes to fight, itโs a 50/50 fight. If he uses his boxing IQ, as in the Usyk vs AJ match, itโs a done deal.
What happens when Fury and Whyte meet this weekend?
Moore: I think Fury wins on points and I think the reason it goes to points is because Fury will get dragged into a fight at times while at other times he will get the fight by the scruff of the neck, box, and control the tempo and range. It will ebb and flow like that. I think Fury will win on points but make it harder than it needs to be.
Gallagher: On form, you have to pick Tyson. He fought the hardest-punching heavyweight in the world and won. Dillian, on the other hand, has been knocked out by [Alexander] Povetkin, then beaten him in the rematch. Whyteโs locked himself away in Portugal and knows this fight opens the gate for him. He will come like a man possessed but will also try to keep calm and cool and box a bit.
It wouldnโt surprise me if both go down in this fight. It could be a complete bore and a boxing lesson, with Tyson Fury retiring Dillian Whyte after about nine rounds. Or it could be a right shootout. But Iโm going to go with the first [scenario]. I expect Fury to stop him in nine or 10 rounds.
Ajayi: Even though itโs a 50/50 fight, I have a feeling it could be Dillianโs night. It could be the night when all the sacrifices pay off for him. I know we can never take what Tyson Fury says seriously, but I donโt like it when fighters talk about a fight potentially being their last. I think there could be an upset. My heart says Dillian; my head says Tyson.