Is Victorious Dillian Whyte A Match for Anthony Joshua?

It took 11 rounds for Dillian Whyte to knock out Dereck Chisora in a brutal heavyweight clash on Saturday night in London and in the end, it was perhaps, a deserved win for Dillian Whyte.

Dereck had been the more adventurous one, just like he had assured before the bout. For him, this rematch wasn’t about setting up a potential World Title bout against Anthony Joshua in 2019, it was revenge for the defeat to Whyte in 2016.

Twice Dereck Chisora had points deducted off him which would have handed Dillian Whyte a huge advantage had it gone the distance to points decision; it just showed his desperation.

Chisora sought the win at any cost and using his head, elbow and low body shots just to score points didn’t matter. Thankfully, it mattered to the official.

Anthony Joshua, who was watching both British boxers slug it out while he analysed on TV was quick to point out Dillian Whyte’s level of discipline as the bout wore on.

Chisora stepped on the gas from the very first sound of the bell, an act of intent. But that wasn’t enough to make Whyte abandon his game plan.

It could have been a lot more brutal and perhaps, it wouldn’t have gone all the way to the eleventh round like it did had Whyte not stuck to a style that favoured him, he just didn’t give in to Chisora’s ploy. And eventually, it paid off.

Despite the victory, Dillian Whyte didn’t particularly impress. Again, he was on the ropes for long spells at the 02 Arena on Saturday just as Joseph Parker had him close in July before a points win over the New Zealander.

The British boxer could well get his much-desired date against Anthony Joshua for a world title and could be as early as March or April 2019. Should this happen, it will be a rematch against Joshua, the only man to have knocked Dillan Whyte out and that was dry early in Joshua’s fairytale professional boxing career.

Seeing as Anthony Joshua is hugely interested in fighting Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury now, he might take on the American first even before both men who served an entertaining bout earlier in the month get to do a rematch.

However, Anthony Joshua versus Dillian Whyte is a matter of When, not If. Dillian Whyte is the number one on both WBO and WBC rankings, both belts held by Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder respectively. And it’s most likely Dillian Whyte will be announced as Joshua’s next mandatory challenger, a bout that won’t be later than September 2019.

Since Joshua’s knockout win over Whyte in 2015 at British boxing level, Whyte has gone on to win his next nine bouts – twice against Dereck Chisora – but none of it was a world title bout whereas Joshua has gone on to win his next seven picking up four world titles in the process which earned him the title of undisputed World Champion.

From the evidence of Dillian Whyte’s fight on Saturday, he’s still behind Anthony Joshua and if both men face off in Wembley on April 13, it’s easy to predict who will leave that ring unscathed.