By: Shane Willougby
Dillian Whyte has officially weighed in at just underneath 260lbs ahead of his clash with Oscar Rivas, which is the 2nd heaviest he has ever weighed ahead of a fight.
Whyte stands at 6ft 4 inches which is 4 inches shorter than David Price but, still managed to weigh in 4lbs heavier than his British counterpart.
The body-snatcher went into the Chisora fight weighing 247lbs but has decided to put on an extra 12lbs for this fight.
Hearing that weight at first, sounds very alarming and probably too heavy. However, this is very similar to what he came in against Joseph Parker where he weighed 258.
Many will say that the extra weight worked in his favour as he was able to manhandle and impose himself against the former world champion. However, we saw Whyte look extremely slow in the first two rounds and then fatigue down the stretch. Whereas against Chisora in his last bout he was able to maintain a decent pace for 11 rounds and then get the stoppage.
Could the Brixton man be looking to employ the same tactic he did against Parker? It definitely could be a variable in this fight as Rivas came in 20lbs lighter and is 4 inches shorter than Whyte. The body snatcher said ‘that weight won’t be an issue for this fight’ and he added ‘when I’m over 18st (252lbs) I feel really strong’.
However, could this extra weight could also be down to a lack of preparation? It would be a sin for Whyte to be overlooking Rivas but with all the chaos surrounding the WBC and the interim title, this could have affected Whyte’s camp.
The weights and sizes both fighters come into this 50/50 clash has always been an interesting aspect to the bout. Because we have seen many vulnerabilities from the WBC number 1 contender when he is high in weight. Most of them surrounding his stamina and speed.
In addition to this, it also appeared as if Whyte had the flu or blocked nose at the press conference as his speech was quite muffled. This also could affect his cardiovascular on fight night.
However, how does Rivas deal with someone that much heavier than him? To be giving up 20lbs in weight is extremely difficult especially for someone like Rivas who likes to dictate the pace. Also, if there is one thing we know about Whyte is he will impose himself throughout the fight. so how will the Colombian hold out?