Dillian Whyte insists he “doesn’t care” about outside opinions on his rematch with Alexander Povetkin as he weighed-in at an impressive 247.2lbs on Friday ahead of this weekend’s ‘Rumble on the Rock’. The Brixton-based boxer stepped on the scales in Gibraltar and looked in fine shape ahead of Saturday night’s fight having shed nearly 24lbs since December 2019.
The 32-year-old was beaten by the Russian in August last year, knocked out in the fifth, but insists he simply isn’t paying any attention to anything being said in the build-up to this one, rescheduled after Povetkin was forced to withdraw from the original rematch after testing positive for Covid-19.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the weigh-in, Whyte said, “He’s a good fighter, that’s why I don’t care what you guys (media) say because sometimes people say Povetkin is this and this and you think ‘I have to be a bit more careful’. I don’t care. I’m on what I’m on and that’s it.
“Every time I step in the ring I try to bring the best out in me, win, lose or draw, I try and give my all, all of the time. This is nothing different, I’m going to give my all. Pressure is a thing you can create on yourself, if you start listening to people but I don’t care. I’m ready and I’m looking to go.”
Whyte, who revealed his trimmer figure has been down to "small adjustments", was asked if victory will act as redemption for the previous defeat and he insisted, “It will mean everything and I’m very confident, I train hard. I came in a stone or more lighter so it’s good but it’s not deliberate, it’s not that I train hard and eat a bit better and rest a bit more, it’s just little small adjustments. This time there will be some improvement and injection of pace so let’s see.”
Whyte is out to get the KO but is being methodical in his approach.
“That’s the plan but don’t expect me to come out and go wild” he said. “But there’s ways of going about things, if I have to fight him, be physical with him, box him or whatever but I'm definitely looking for the stoppage. We worked a lot in camp and I know I’ve got a lot of ways of pressing him, using angles, my range, my legs and stuff.”