By: Hans Themistode
Over the past few years, Tyson Fury has tipped the scales north of 270 pounds. With the WBC heavyweight titlist weighing in at 273 and 277 pounds respectively in back-to-back triumphs over Deontay Wilder, the British star vowed to follow that same procedure. However, despite promising to come in at his heaviest for his upcoming title defense against Dillian Whyte, Fury was considerably trimmer.
Whyte stepped onto the scales first. He wore black gloves and donned a black shirt, as he looked stoically into the crowd. Moments later, it was revealed that the WBC mandatory challenger weighed in at 253 pounds, his heaviest since 2019. As Whyte moved aside for Fury to make his way onto the podium, the loquacious heavyweight titlist removed his shirt and egged the crowd on as he flexed and posed for pictures.
Noticeably slimmer, Fury’s weight officially checked in at 264 pounds, also his lightest since 2019. The customary stare-down moments after was a bizarre one. Fury towered over his much shorter opponent, opened his eyes up wide, stood on his tippy toes, and attempted to intimidate his man.
Whyte though, simply smiled as he jokingly cowered in fear. Following years of what he believes was unfair judgment, the 34-year-old contender is anxious for his first world title opportunity.
After putting his brutal loss at the hands of Anthony Joshua behind him, Whyte has been on a roll, winning 12 of his 13 bouts. In his lone defeat, a sudden fifth-round knockout against Alexander Povetkin, Whyte dusted himself and righted the ship, stopping the former interim heavyweight titlist in the fourth round of their immediate rematch.
Although Fury has earned universal praise as the best heavyweight in the world, the longtime champion believes he’s reached the end of his journey. In his mind, once he goes on to savagely stop Whyte at Wembley Stadium in what’s expected to be a crowd of nearly 100,000, he’ll hang up his gloves for good. However, despite his retirement talk, his father, John Fury, has stated on numerous occasions that he simply isn’t buying it.