DILLIAN WHYTE insists his weight loss is not part of the plan to get swift revenge on Alexander Povetkin.
The 32-year-old Brixton ace was knocked out cold by the Russian last August and has taken the rerun to red-hot Gibraltar.
Whyte was 18st for the original clash in Eddie Hearn’s Essex garden, where he looked razor sharp scoring two early knockdowns.
And he insists the 5lbs he has shipped – to weigh in at 17st 9lbs – is just a result of brutal training sessions in his six-month Portugal camp.
“I’ve come in half-a-stone lighter,” he said after stripping off. “It wasn’t deliberate. Just small adjustments. I expect a tough 12-round fight.
“Every time I step into the ring I give my all. This is nothing different. You can create pressure in yourself if you start listening to people.
“I will stop him. Don’t expect me to come out and be wild because there are ways of doing things; fight him, be physical, box him. But I am looking for the stoppage.
“We have different ways of pressing him. Standing in front, but not being in front of him, using angles and my legs.”
Povetkin, who battled a serious case of Covid-19 that delayed the bout, put 4lbs on since the summer and looked a little fleshy.
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But the 41-year-old former world and Olympic champion remains full of surprises and claims he is planning something stunning again.
“My goal is to be focused on the fight and show beautiful boxing, that’s it,” the Soviet slugger said.
“It will be beautiful, interesting boxing. That’s what I can say.”
The two heavyweight headliners came face to face for the first time again at the press conference, a day before their weigh in.
And Whyte joked he contemplated pushing Povetkin and promoter Eddie Hearn into the water, before thinking better of it.
He told iFL TV: “I was thinking about, I swear to god, it crossed my mind.
“It crossed my mind. I was thinking of pushing Eddie in and then pushing Povetkin in. I was thinking about it.
“But I was thinking I already get another giff online, I don’t think I need anymore.
“I was thinking of pushing Eddie Hearn and Povetkin in. And tell them, ‘You two are fish, swim together’.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
