The CV is a bit deceiving but Whyte still aggressively pursued those fights and did the business and won. That's what's to be respected. No one can predict how an opponent is going to turn up on the night and in the case of Browne it was a closely matched fight on paper, no cherry pick at all. Most people flat out expected Parker to beat him from what I recall, and the second Chisora fight wasn't entirely clear cut either. The only cherry pick I can think of in recent years was Wach, but in the main Whyte's consistently taken on guys with a decent chance of beating him. Whyte's had his fair share of luck and favourable decisions, but he's also fought his heart out on more than one occasion and never failed to believe in himself. He's a great example of what a mid-level HW should be, even if he isn't the most skilled or charismatic guy on the block.
He still had that KO win over Chagaev. Journeymen don't get that. I'm not claiming he was an outstanding HW, but to call him trash isn't correct at all.
Kevin McBride beat Mike Tyson. He is an over achiever. Oh, and this is the Chagaev he beat: This content is protected Chagaev who fought only twice in 2013, once in 2014 and again only once in 2015. In his prime he was around 224 lbs. His last few years he was at close to 250. And this at 37 years of age. Credit to Browne, he pulled it off while himself being 36, but this is all he did. Score a come from behind KO over a faded old champion.
I commend him for taking these fights and somehow getting the W in all but the Joshua and old Povetkin ones, but like mentioned before his record should have been 24-4-0-1 by now with on the level officials, and could even have gone 23-6 if he was a little less lucky. That said, his official record is pretty damn good for a modern day heavyweight, but not the best of the last 4 years of course, as we obviously have Povetkin and definitely Joshua topping that. Whyte is a good fighter, who takes on good challenges, but also a very lucky one (part of that due to promotion of course) to not be lost in the pack or even suspended.
The myth of the great dillian Whyte resume has long been debunked. Parker and Rivas were highly controversial at best. He went life and death with Chisora and was knocked out cold by an ancient povetkin. These mediocre heavyweights fight and beat each other and somehow that makes them greater than the sum of their parts when in reality the division is just no good beyond the top 3
I think saying current HWs below the top 3 are mediocre is harsh. Most generations fans trash the HW division more than any. It's like they have this mythical ideal era of the HWs that never seems to materialize. On size alone modern SHWs would blast all but the best - and some of them too - older era HWs out of the ring in short order. No doubt DWs stock has dropped much after being KTFO by a 40/41 year old Pov. But Wyhte remains a solid top 10 HW unless he keeps losing.
Imo, by my eye they are mediocre boxers. I don't believe size means all that much at a certain point and if we are to believe Usyk is one of the best in the division because of what he did at cw I don't see what case can be made that it is