Pov is SHOT TO PIECES. He's been done for ages, yet he just laid out the guy many were arguing as the 3rd best HW on earth. That wasn't a "bad stoppage", Whyte landed shoulders first - always bad! It was like a Lumberjack felling a tree. It's pointless for Pov because it was an eliminator, and he couldn't have got the win in a better, more decisive way. Yet he has to rematch him? Give over.
Why rematch him though? There's having a razor-close fight, then there's getting starched. Wasn't a fluke at all.
Whyte will be heavy favourite to win the rematch. Wasnt a fluke but like in any sport you dont score/hit/throw that worldy in every game/match/fight. I have played football, i have scored a screamer from 35 yards before. Doesnt mean that i will recreate that again or be expected to in every game or even most games. Another example is david beckham COULD score from the halfway line, but only did it once in his career
Lennox was a boxing legend at his peak. Almost a fluke in South Africa. Whyte is some contender fringe guy on the way up and not getting younger. Not proved himself, proved he gets knocked cold when stepping up a shot former very good operator.
A couple of polls were done on the first fight, and they were about 2/3 Whyte, 1/3 Povetkin. I picked Povetkin witha counter, although I got the hands backwards I can't believe Whyte would get 2/3 again. If we did a poll, I think it would be 50/50. I'll set one up over in the regular forum. POST SCRIPT: Here you go: https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/who-wins-the-rematch-whyte-of-povetkin.654079/
Fair enough. Its clear that pov from say 4/5 years ago and backwards would do a number on whyte now. But whyte will learn and just play it more cautiously in the first half of the fight and deal with him when he tires. This is nothing like the pov of old, which says more about him winning with what will go down as one of the punches of the decade!!
Would totally agree with everything you've said and give full credit where it's due (lovely shot on the weekend).......... but a little harder when the bloke has juiced. So have to disagree with the "what a pro" statement. Cheat.
True but look at the names on his CV and ask how many of his opponents have juiced. There's enough in there who have actually been caught and suspended let alone those who slipped through the testing net.
Also, Whyte’s been pulled up twice himself. Served a 2 year ban for one and the other was mysteriously brushed under the carpet.
He's on the verge of and should already have a World Title shot, I think he beats Whyte again, he has much more about his overall game than Whyte.
I'm quite critical of Lennox Lewis. His KO loss to Rahman does affect his standing a bit, for me. He reversed the defeat in the rematch but that doesn't erase the result of the first fight. However, Rahman was a prime 28 year old contender going up against a (perhaps declining) 35 year old Lewis. Whyte is a prime heavyweight, just turned 32 years old. Povetkin's a veteran, virtually 'shot', just about to turn 41 years old. Whatever happens in the rematch, a loss like that will cling heavily to Whyte. It will take several big wins against highly rated fighters for Whyte to really have any chance of redeeming himself to the point where the hype he's received can be justified. That might be well beyond him. Anything's possible but it's likely Whyte, if he can even beat Povetkin, will be cashed out against AJ or Fury, or suffer similar defeats against some of the ranked second-tier heavyweights or up-and-comers, sooner or later.
