Dillian Whyte has vowed to prove wrong anybody who has written him off in the past and insisted he will bounce back to defeat Alexander Povetkin in their rematch this Saturday.
The two fighters will go toe-to-toe in the Rumble on the Rock in front of 500 fans in Gibraltar this weekend, more than six months after the Russian knocked Whyte down in the fifth round of their bout last summer. After a November fight had to be postponed after Povetkin tested positive for Coronavirus, the fight is now going ahead and Whyte is ready to get revenge.
Speaking to Matchroom boxing promoter Eddie Hearn at a pre-fight press conference on Thursday, Whyte was in focused mood. “It’s the most important fight of my career,” he said. “This is boxing, I’ve been through ups and downs my whole life. I’m used to bouncing back and proving people wrong and showing people what I can do if they write me off.
“I’m easy, people say ‘the defeat’ and this that and the other but it’s nothing. I’m doing something and changing my life. I’m constantly improving, I’m still learning and improving every day and Saturday I’m coming to leave it all on the line once again.”
Whyte knocked down Povetkin before losing last August but he’s determined to level things up with a victory on Saturday and said, “The first fight was a good fight, I knocked him down a couple of times, he came up and fair play to him he landed a good punch.
“He did well and I’m glad that he’s took the rematch and we’re here again and about to get it on in two days. I come to the ring to fight. I just love fighting and I enjoy what I do.
“The main thing is the win but I’m a competitor and I hate losing anything so want to make it one one. That’s the plan, I’ve adapted in fights, against jabs, fighters who are faster than me… I’ll do whatever I need to do.”
Povetkin, meanwhile, appeared unfazed by Whyte’s declaration and added, “I’m relaxed, confident. The only thing I’m thinking is to show my good boxing on Saturday.
“I’ve almost forgotten about the first fight because it is a done story and I think Dillian will be better in the second fight than the first and at the same time but I will be more careful and pay attention to my defence.
“I don’t have the feeling that I will knock him out, I will just look to win, it could go the whole distance and I won’t focus on the knockout, I just need to follow my plan.”
