Dillian Whyte got his revenge as he stopped former world champion Alexander Povetkin in round four of a scheduled 12-round fight and win the WBC Interim Heavyweight title at the island of Girbralter.
Whyte rocked Povetkin from the outset as the former champ looked unsteady on his legs in almost every round. In round four, Whyte landed a big right hand that sent Povetkin sprawling into the ropes, and a wicked left hook sent a prone Povetkin down to the canvas just as the towel from Povetkin’s corner came flying in and the fight was stopped at 2:39.
Whyte was knocked out by Povetkin last August, but now the Englishman is back in line to get a world title shot. The 247.2 pound native of Brixton, ENG is 28-2 with 19 knockouts. Povetkin, 228 lbs of Russia is 36-3.
“I’m happier for my team than I am for me because some of my staff missed Christmas with their families,” Whyte told Matchroom. “They stayed back to help me train. They did so much behind the scenes to get me into the position for a World Title fight.
“I was so close, and then one lapse in concentration and I made a mistake. Tonight, I was like ‘yo’, I’m looking to beat some a** tonight. I was trying to get it done in the first round but then I had to relax. Anybody on the planet that gets hit with that left hook, they’re going down. Some of them might get up but most will stay down. He was kind of badly hurt. Now I feel bad. I want him to go home to his family healthy.
“Everyone says a lot of things about me like I’m not this and I’m not that. These guys don’t know me. These guys don’t know what I’m capable of and what I can do. When I read the comments about me, I just laugh. I just laugh at these guys because I’m as strong as steel.
“One loss, two loss so what. It was a good learning fight for me because I had to think in there. I was rushing him but I had to think also. He’s still very heavy-handed and he’s still very good. I’m going to spend some time with my family and just relax. I’ll probably call Eddie tomorrow and ask him what we’re doing next. I want to make the most of it now and retire good and healthy.”
Wardley Stops Molina in 5
Fabio Wardley remained undefeated with a fifth round stoppage over former two-time-world title challenger Eric Molina in a scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout.
In round five, it was actually Molina who was pushing Wardley back by landing some good right hands. Molina was on the offensive when Wardley landed a short left that was followed by a right that put Molina on his back for the 10-count at 52 seconds.
Wardley, 232 lbs of Ipswich, ENG is 11-0 with 10 knockouts. Molina, 251.5 lbs of Texas is 27-7.
“My corner weren’t too happy because sometimes I get a little bit, not lose my head, but I get a little bit bored of playing the long game and waiting it through in the tactics side,” Wardley told Sky Sports. “My heart won over a bit and I got stuck into a little bit of a war.
“I’m by no means the finished article. I’ve still got a lot to learn and that’s why we need fights like that because in other fights I’ve had where I’ve hit people, I’ve stuck it on them and they’ve gone missing. Molina didn’t go missing until we really had to dig it out.
“There was a few lessons there for us to watch back and for us to tick off. We’ll go back to the drawing board and figure them out. I needed this type of fight at this stage of my career. You can do it as much as you want in sparring and all of those type of things but it’s different when you get here under the bright lights.
“You need to test yourself in different ways and that’s what tonight was all about. I don’t go hunting for names, that’s not my style. I don’t go calling people out. I’m going for Titles, belts and accolades. That’s where we’re going next. We’re still trying to build and get those good level of opponents. At the same time, I’m now looking for that next step up. European, Commonwealth or British, something like that.”
Cheeseman stops Metcalf in 11
In a terrific back and forth brawl, Ted Cheeseman stopped previously undefeated James Metcalf in round 11 of their scheduled 12-round junior middleweight fight.
Both guys were hurt during the entertaining fight. Cheeseman seemed to have the fight in hand on several occasions, yet Metcalf would fight back with heart and desire each time. In round 11, Cheeseman landed a perfect left hook just as the bell sounded that sent Metcalf to the deck. Metcalf got to his feet, but stumbled forward, and the fight was stopped at 3:10.
Cheeseman, 154 lbs of Bernmondsey, ENG is 17-2-1 with 10 knockouts. Metcalf, 154 lbs of Liverpool, ENG is 21-1.
“Again and again I’m in exciting fights,” said Cheeseman. “I’m always in entertaining fights. I’m improving and maturing. I’m working hard in the gym. Everyone doubted me and thought that I had a lot of miles on the clock. I’m still fresh as a daisy, and again I’ve cemented myself as the number one domestic Super-Welterweight.
“I felt I won the first five or six rounds. I nearly had him out of there in the fourth. I thought to myself, ‘I’m not going to waste too much energy’. I used my experience and had a couple of rounds off. I don’t think he’d ever done the 12 rounds. Then it was time for me to step it up, bully him and push him back.
“It’s great to be in these fights because they’re entertaining. I’m looking forward to the future now. For a long while I was down, and everyone thought I was out. Now I’m flying again. The bookies had me as an underdog and a lot of people thought that I was going to get beat. I outboxed him, I outfought him and I knocked him out. I showed how good I am, and I showed how much I’ve improved.”
Campbell Hatton wins Pro Debut
Campbell Hatton made his pro debut and won a decision over Jesus Ruiz in a four-round lightweight bout.
Hatton, who is the son of former two-division world champion Ricky Hatton and is trained by uncle and former world title challenger Matthew Hatton won by a score of 40-36. Ruiz of Spain is 0-11.
“At first, I was a little bit disappointed in myself,” said Hatton. “I spoke to Matt and he’s always dead honest with me. A bit brutal at times. He said I could have done better but I definitely didn’t box badly. He said I boxed really well in patches and I should be pleased with it.
“There was a lot of pressure. I did the one thing I said all week that I didn’t want to do, I let the occasion get to me a bit. Now that occasion is out of the way, it can only get better. I’m pleased and I’m buzzing. It’s a dream come true. There’s no feeling like it. You always hear people say it on the telly. I didn’t realise how true it was.
“When the music started coming on, I think everyone could see how fired up I was. That’s probably what made me put the performance in that I did. I smothered myself a little bit, but I feel on top of the world. Eddie said there that I’d be out next on the Chisora undercard. I’ll have a couple of shandies tonight and then straight back into the gym next week. I think the second fight is going to be ten times better now I’ve got that first taste of things.”
McKinson Decisions Kongo
In a battle of undefeated welterweights, Michael McKinson won a 10-round unanimous decision over Chris Kongo.
In round one, McKinson dropped Kongo in round one with a left on the inside.
McKinson, 146.2 lbs of Portsmouth, ENG won by scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-94 to raise his mark to 20-0. Kongo, 147 lbs of Bermondsey, ENG is 12-1.
“I feel on top of the word,” said McKinson. “I’ve done things the hard way in my career. For many years I’ve been calling for my shot on the big stage and I never thought it would happen. I’ve been beating people for hardly anything to work my record up to 20-0.
“Fair play to Chris, Dillian and Eddie for giving me the opportunity. I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. A big shout out to my management team MTK Global and Lee Eaton for securing me this. I believe that my career starts tonight. There was a lot of people in the boxing world that didn’t have me down as the favourite. All of my mates have made money tonight! I’m happy. I’m bringing this belt back to Portsmouth.
“In the week we’ve had a lot of hype around this fight. Everyone has been talking about it. I know he’s a respectful lad deep down, and so am I. But it did get a bit heated and everyone was questioning if it was going to live up to the hype. I think it was a bit boring, but I did what I had to do to win. Great champions do what they have to do to win and I did that tonight.
“I hope Eddie can give me the opportunities; its winner stays on. I just hope I can get on one of these shows again. Like I said in all of my interviews before, Chris is the most dangerous Welterweight out there I the UK I believe but he has his weaknesses. I believe in myself. I’ve got a great team around me. I’ve given my life to this sport and it’s paid off tonight.
“I believe I’m top of the tree. There’s a lot of talk. I’ve got respect for all of the other Welterweights. Josh Kelly, Conor Benn and Florian Marku. It’s a great time to be a Welterweight domestically at the moment. I deserve the Conor Benn fight more than any other domestic fighter.”
Webb Stops Pfeifer in 2
Nick Webb stopped Paul Pfeifer in round two of a scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout.
In round two, Webb sent Pfeifer down with a hard right hand. Webb dropped Pfeifer two more times, and the fight was stopped at 1:51.
Webb, 262 lbs of Surrey, ENG is 17-2 with 13 knockouts. Pfefier, 246.2 lbs of Germany is 7-1.
“I feel on top of the world,” said Webb..“Tonight before we went in we had a talk – start fast, get him out of there, we don’t get paid for overtime.
“Everyone doubts me, but I have come here and made a statement. So, don’t doubt me no more. I want more belts, more Titles, get me out. I always believed in my self and my team believed in me too.
“It’s indescribable. I’m so happy. I’ve been through so much pain and hurt. I put everything into that. Everything into my training camp. To get a win like that is sending the right message. It’s a big win.
“Pfeifer is a great man; he was a great amateur and he had some great fights and great wins as an amateur. We knew what was in front of us, and we knew that we didn’t want to get involved with a boxing match. I just wanted to go in and destroy him.
“We said in the changing room to start fast and hit him quick, and that’s exactly what we did. Everyone overlooks me and everyone doubts me. It’s all about self-belief and mind games. When you’ve got bombs to back the mind games up, it’s all good.”
