By: Sean Crose
After getting knocked out by a howitzer of an uppercut from Tyson Fury last spring, Dillian Whyte was hoping to return to form on Saturday when he took on undefeated fellow heavyweight Jermain Franklin in London. Franklin showed he could hang with longtime contender Whyte in the first, standing in front of his man and counterpunching. Both men landed well in the second, though Whyte seemed to be the more active of the two.
In the third, it appeared that Franklin had a considerable speed advantage. What’s more, Franklin once again began landing effective combinations. By the fourth, Franklin was taking the fight to his more well known opponent. While Franklin remained game in the fifth, Whyte landed well and with authority. He also appeared to control the tempo of the chapter. What was telling about the sixth was the fact that Whyte for the most part appeared to control the geography through his forward movement and patience.
Whyte put his jab to good use in the seventh, and subsequently was able to work his man on the ropes. Franklin worked to get in on his man in the eighth. Not being afraid to get rough, he was warned by the referee for pushing Whyte forward. The ninth appeared a slow round, which was not surprising, as this was a battle between two big men. In the final few seconds of the chapter, however, Franklin was able to really land on his man repeatedly.
Whyte looked to be close to hurting Franklin in the tenth, but the veteran fighter just didn’t seem to have it in him to do any serious damage. The fighters ground away at each other in the eleventh. It was an exciting three minutes. Each man was able to have his moments in a very high octane twelfth and final round, but it was Whyte who walked out of the ring with a majority decision win.