By: Shane Willoughby
With a shot at the WBC title basically guaranteed, what does Dillian Whyte do next?
After his impressive UD win over Oscar Rivas, Whyte is now mandatory for Wilder’s title and is due to fight for the belt in around about 10 to 12 months.
Naturally, we all think that he should sit tight and wait for the shot. However, we have seen fighters like Sterverne and Breazeale sit around, inactive until the mandatory is called and they both got the same treatment. Not to say they would have won if they were active, but I can’t see how going into a Wilder fight with ring rust is beneficial.
With that said we have seen Whyte take some really big gambles with his number 1 position in his past 5 fights which could have been to his detriment.
Whyte was seriously hurt by Helenius, dropped by Parker in the last round, down on the cards against Chisora in the 11th and dropped by Rivas in the 9th.
The body snatcher is constantly taking risky fights which he doesn’t need to do. And by his own admission when you fight good fighters you’re going to lose.
So, with all of that in mind, does he take a risky fight before he gets his shot next year? The most common answer is probably no.
Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn has spoken about getting him out again in November or December, but against what kind of opponent?
Whilst many say Whyte shouldn’t take another risk, as the Brit loves to remind us, he only had 7 amateur fights and it’s been these risky fights that have made him so battle-hardened and it’s really propelled his progress.
It’s very difficult to learn from an easy fight so maybe the WBC interim champion decides to test his metal again. As the saying goes, steel sharpens steel.
However, it would be extremely naive for Whyte to into another 50/50. However, I do agree with Hearn, when he says he wants to get Whyte out again. But against Who?
As it stands, Whyte is most likely going to be fighting Wilder however, there is a chance it also could be Fury or Ortiz, depending on results. With this in mind, it would be fantastic to see Whyte fight someone tall again.
Other than Helenius, who he fought in 2017, the Body-snatcher hasn’t come up against anyone over 6ft 4. Which isn’t great preparation for a Wilder or Fury who both stand excess of 6ft 7.
So a fight against a tall heavyweight will be a good test. If I was Eddie Hearn the person I’ll be pushing for the most is Gerald Washington.
Washington is 6ft 6, one inch shorter than Wilder and is coming off a knockout win against one of Whyte’s previous opponents Robert Helenius. Also, the American has been in the ring with some top fighters and given them some really good work, including Wilder.
Not only is Washington the right dimensions and a very good mover across the ground like Fury and the Bronze Bomber, but if Whyte can beat him in better fashion than the current WBC champion did it could give him a psychological boost.
To top it off Washington is somewhat of a known quantity to the American boxing public so it could be a good coming out fight for Whyte in the States. He shouldn’t cause Whyte any major upsets but could be good prep.