Dillian Whyte has been cast aside in a thriving heavyweight division over the last twelve months and has fought in just three rounds since 2022. Now, it appears as though the true return of ‘The Bodysnatcher’ has been put on ice.
Whyte was fortunate to scrape past Jermaine Franklin when they went toe-to-toe in December 2022, winning a controversial majority-decision that was met with heaps of criticism across the pond. Although, a few months later, Whyte was drafted in for a rematch with Anthony Joshua, as ‘AJ’ continued his comeback to the heavyweight throne.
Much to the disappointment of fight fans throughout the United Kingdom, it was revealed that Dillian Whyte had failed a drugs test ahead of the Joshua scrap and he was replaced by Robert Helenius – who was knocked out by the two-time champion in the seventh-round.
This was the third time that Whyte had tested positive during his career, receiving a two-year ban for testing for Methylhexaneamine after his 2012 victory over Hungary’s Sandor Balogh and then in 2019 prior to his win against Oscar Rivas.
However, in March 2024 Whyte was cleared to return to the sport and he did so at the earliest opportunity in a strange location, stopping Christian Hammer in round three in the small Irish town of Castlebar that very same month.
Yet, Whyte is yet to return since, and in an interview with Boxing Social, his brother Dean Whyte admitted that he thinks it will be a while before we see Whyte facing any of the top names in the division, but added that activity is likely on the horizon for the former WBC title challenger.
“I think that we will hear something shortly. I can’t go too much into it but hopefully in the next few months, I know that him and his team wants to get back out there so I am sure that we will hear something, that is all I can say.
“Not really, I don’t think so [that Bakole is a name that he will entertain], not right now, Dillian has got to work on his own path. There are fights that have been offered and I think that Dillian is a bit big still. He has only had one fight in about two years, I think that for me, he needs another good few fights, at least three or four fights to get the rust off.
“Joseph Parker, [Zhilei] Zhang, Martin Bakole – all of those boys have had three or four fights and they have got the momentum. Dillian needs to get the momentum, if you go in there without momentum then you are destined to fail. He needs to bet on himself, take his time and get the momentum.”
The news from Dean Whyte has all but ruled out the possibility of witnessing Whyte-Chisora III this December in Manchester, after rumours that he and Derek Chisora could collide once again.
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