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Eddie Hearn, promoter for heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte, admits concern as his man will face former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night at Matchroom’s Fight Camp in Brentwood.
Whyte will stake his mandatory status under the WBC.
The winner will fall directly in line for a mandatory crack at the winner of Tyson Fury’s upcoming defense of the WBC heavyweight title against Deontay Wilder, which is targeted for a tentative date of December 19th.
Hearn is very familiar with the talents of both boxers.
Povetkin has fought several times on Matchroom events – including wins over Hughie Fury and David Price, a draw back in December with Michael Hunter, and a seventh round TKO defeat at the hands of Anthony Joshua, who was rocked in the early rounds of the fight.
Povetkin’s two career defeats have come at the hands of Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko. He’s only been stopped by Joshua.
Both Povetkin and Whyte were last seen in the ring back in December, when they saw action in respective fights on the undercard of Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz in Saudi Arabia.
“Whyte is in fantastic condition. The scariest thing about Povetkin is his level all the time – from when he fought Joshua, Hunter, Price – I have not seen him deviate. Not even the tone of his voice. He is a machine! He is programmed to destroy. He will do everything in his power to do that. There is no quit in him, no backing down,” Hearn said.
At the same time, Hearn believes the path for victory is for Whyte to break Povetkin down as the rounds play out.
“If the machine gets broken down, you can’t conduct the task. That’s what Whyte will do,” Hearn said.