Tyson Fury v Dillian Whyte: Big-fight analysis ahead of BT Sport PPV showdown

After the silence, can Whyte make the biggest noise?

WBC/Lineal/Ring Magazine heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury returning home for an all-British battle against WBC interim champion Dillian Whyte is a big deal. A huge deal.

Yet even the most sanguine and bullish boxing fan would have to concede that the build-up to Fury vs Whyte has been odd at best, and a huge letdown at worst.

Until the last few days, nobody had heard from Mr Whyte other than those in camp with him as he pushed his body to the limit during warm weather training on the Algarve. Dillian chose not to speak or even post on his own social media despite Fury goading him on Instagram and via other outlets. The timing of such radio silence – from a man who has campaigned vociferously for a world title shot for years – is strange to say the least.

Let’s have it right, outside of Fury vs Anthony Joshua or Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, this is the biggest heavyweight fight which could possibly be made. It is happening at Wembley, in front of a British record crowd, and yet the build-up has been anticlimactic in the extreme.

Fury vs Whyte a huge fight

It’s a huge fight, Fury’s first on home soil for almost four years, and 94,000 are expected to pack into London’s iconic old venue to see the most significant British boxing spectacle since Lennox Lewis vs Frank Bruno back in 1993.

‘The Gypsy King’ has proved himself to be the number one heavyweight in the world following his exploits in that epic trilogy match against Deontay Wilder last October, and before that going to Germany and taking the belts from Wladimir Klitschko. Whyte meanwhile is a wildly entertaining slugger who is rarely in a dull fight. The outcome is far from certain, despite how the bookies have priced it up (Sky Bet have Fury as the 1/6 favourite).

Alas Whyte shunned the limelight until recent days. His reasons are his reasons, but some have speculated he remained steadfast in the belief he should receive more than a 20% split of the record $41,025,000 (£31.48m) purse.

Even by boxing’s bizarre standards, the build-up to this has been unconventional. Fury and his promoter Frank Warren have been forced to carry the show, while Whyte and his promoter Eddie Hearn seem to have viewed the whole event as something that may or may not take place. This despite tickets for the fight selling out in 90 minutes as Brits scrambled to watch what is sure to be a massive world title fight.

Whyte’s reasons for staying silent may not be purely financial of course. The Brixton man may also have reasoned a long time ago there is mileage in avoiding a war of words with Fury, a war that he would likely lose. Fury is arguably the most braggadocious heavyweight champion since Muhammad Ali and when it comes to mind games has mentally befuddled a slew of past opponents, most notably Klitschko and Wilder. Fury himself is not just ‘King of the Gypsies’, he is also ‘King of the Mind Games’ and showed his mischievous streak by boxing southpaw for the entire duration of Tuesday’s open workout (a workout that – surprise, surprise – was swerved by Whyte).

Don’t underestimate the power of silence either. Being silent allows us to channel our energies. It gives us the clarity we need to calmly face challenges and uncertainty. ‘The Body Snatcher’ is preparing for the biggest fight of his career, and a bout which could change his life for ever. So what if he’s swerved a few media days?

During a rare soundbite this week he said "It’s a shame it has gone down to the wire as we could have made it a major event but this is boxing and nothing surprises me".

It is still a huge event, but given how boxing has been battling to remain relevant in the sports pages and repel the rise and rise of the UFC, these two brilliant and often outlandish sporting superstars could have done so much to raise the profile of the noble art in recent weeks.

The time for talking will soon be over of course. The cards are stacked in Fury’s favour, and he will have been delighted to sell out Wembley so quickly.

Fury a bona fide superstar

Fury 31-0-1 (22) has paid his dues and deserves to be recognised as one of the biggest and best-paid sports stars in the world. He has been to Germany and America to win his big fights and has come through some serious personal issues over the last decade. Fury has come full circle – opening up new horizons and inspiring those struggling with mental health issues – and is now a bona fide global personality following those wars with Wilder.

The man himself insists this will be his last fight before he retires, but that seems highly unlikely with Usyk and Joshua waiting in the wings. At 33, he’s clearly closer to the end of his career than he is to the beginning though, and it’s good to see that he only wants to be involved in major events against the biggest names from now on.

Whyte has also paid his dues, spending a long time at the top, or near the top, of the WBC rankings. Fury’s long and violent rivalry with Wilder delayed things for the Londoner, but he gets his chance this weekend and he has to grab it if he wants to stay relevant. Dillian is a throwback heavyweight who would not have looked out of place in the 1970s, an era when contenders slugged it out regularly and balked at the notion of ‘stay busy’ or ‘tick over’ fights.

He’s beaten Dereck Chisora twice, Oscar Rivas, Joseph Parker and went 1-1 with Alexander Povetkin as well as losing to Joshua in a 2015 domestic classic. He can fight, make no mistake.

Dillian has the belief to stun Fury

Crucially, Dillian has the self-belief to cause an upset, and has a dangerous left hook to back up that belief. Fury has been down six times in his professional career and four times in those seminal fights against Wilder. With this in mind, the theory that Whyte won’t be able to lay a glove on ‘The Gypsy King’ is flawed.

The 28-2 (19) Whyte may never be the finished article but at the venerable age of 34 the time to roll the dice is surely now. Saturday is the time for Dillian – a quiet man who understands the language of violence – to do the talking with his fists. He is either going to shake up the world, or realise quickly that courage is a double-edged virtue.

What time is Fury v Whyte and what TV channel is it on?

Fury vs Whyte is being broadcast live from Wembley on Saturday, April 23 on BT Sport Box Office. The pay-per-view will cost fans £24.95.

The undercard is due to begin at 6pm BST, with ring walks for the main event expected at 10pm.

Fury vs Whyte: What are the odds?

• Fury to win: 1/6
• Whyte to win: 7/2
• Draw: 25/1
• Fury to win via decision/technical decision: 9/4
• Fury to win via KO, TKO or DQ: 4/6
• Whyte to win via decision/technical decision: 18/1
• Whyte to win via KO, TKO or DQ: 9/2

Fury v Whyte full undercard and fight times

The undercard is due to begin at 6pm BST, with ring walks for the main event expected at 10pm.

• Main Event: Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte
• Isaac Lowe vs Nick Ball
• Tommy Fury vs Daniel Bocianski
• Anthony Cacace vs Jonathan Romero
• David Adeleye vs Chris Healey
• Karol Itauma vs Michal Ciach
• Royston Barney-Smith vs Jahfieus Faure
• Kurt Walker vs Stefan Nicolae

Related boxing links

• Fury's greatest performances
• Big-fight TV schedule
• British boxing classics