DILLIAN WHYTE is out for more than just revenge tonight against Alexander Povetkin – he is also looking to create a little chunk of history.
The Body Snatcher, 32, was stunned by the former world champ, 41, in Eddie Hearn’s backyard in August 2020.
This time they clash over in Gibraltar with the Brit desperate to avenge that loss and regain his place as WBC interim champion.
However, despite Whyte being the huge favourite to win, William Hill has discovered history is not on his side.
The betting company have conducted a study analysing rematches involving every current heavyweight boxer in the top 15 WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF rankings.
And it has revealed that only SIX PER CENT of first-time losers have gone on to seal revenge.
Amazingly, the only one who can claim to have done that is Anthony Joshua.
The WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO title holder suffered defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in a huge shock back in the summer of 2019 at MSG.
But AJ, who has agreed a £200m contract to unify the division against WBC king Tyson Fury later this year, quickly bounced back and re-took his championships the following December in Saudi Arabia.
There were 34 heavyweight boxers analysed in the study with 17 fights leading to a rematch.
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But it found a huge 88 per cent of the original winners went on to claim back-to-back victories.
Just six per cent of the fights started with a draw before the rematch was settled with a victory – that was Fury’s eventual win over Deontay Wilder following their epic first fight draw.
Fury, Wilder and Derek Chisora have been involved in the most rematches with three each.
Whyte will be fighting in his second after previously disposing of Chisora with back-to-back wins.
Meanwhile Povetkin is entering uncharted waters having never previously been involved in a rematch.
And the Russian’s hopes of a trilogy should he lose tonight do not look good either.
Only six per cent of the fights headed for a third clash – Trevor Bryan’s trilogy of victories over Sandy Antonio Soto.
A William Hill spokesperson said: “If the first fight between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin is anything to go by, we’re all set for a thrilling second bout this weekend, with Whyte desperate to gain revenge over the Russian.
“However, Whyte may want to look away now, as if our research is anything to go by then the odds are well and truly stacked against him.
“Of the heavyweight rematches we analysed, a mega 88 per cent of them saw the original winner claim another victory, while just six per cent of them involved the loser avenging the first defeat.
“History looks to be on the side of Povetkin on Saturday, but it will be a fascinating watch to see if Whyte can rewrite the record books in Gibraltar.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
