Dillian Whyte left to rationalize one punch KO loss to Povetkin

About 12 hours after his stunning one punch knockout loss to Alexander Povetkin, in a fight that he was clearly winning, English heavyweight Contender Dillian Whyte was still trying to explain how it all went completely wrong, so quickly.

Whyte spoke exclusively to Sky Sports on the grounds of Matchroom Boxing’s headquarters after his one punch, 5th round TKO defeat at the hands of the Russian former IBF Champion Povetkin;

"In the rematch, I will handle business."

Dillian Whyte insists 'I have no regrets' about Alexander Povetkin gamble after huge KO defeat ??

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 23, 2020

“I have no regrets. It was a great fight and obviously, Povetkin done well. I know I could beat him. I showed it from round one….he pulled out one of the best punches of his career. That’s boxing. It’s full of drama,” Whyte said, in part, to Sky.

Povetkin had been in trouble himself, down twice in the fourth round, before the dramatic reversal of fortune on a single left uppercut that sent shockwaves through the internet and the fight game Saturday night.

Whyte further tried to rationalize to Sky Sports that the good things that he was doing gives him hope for a potential rematch with Povetkin late this year

However, the clearer reality is this: Whyte, who hasn’t won a significant fight in two years, just got cold- cocked by a fighter that will turn 41 years old in 10 days. And, no matter how much he wants to spin that he was in control of the fight, ultimately the knockout loss is all that matters and is damaging to his future.

Whyte had been hoping for a spectacular victory to put him in position to potentially fight WBC Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury in 2021. Of course, that is provided Fury defeats former champ, Deontay Wilder, in their third fight, which is reportedly going to happen either in December or January.

Instead it was Povetkin who vaulted himself now into conversations involving Heavyweight contenders and possible championship shots, again. Povetkin was last on the biggest stage when Unified Champ, Anthony Joshua, defeated him and took away his IBF Crown in September 2018.

It was also borderline comedy listening to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn in post fight interviews trying to rationalize in his own mind that Povetkin knocking Whyte out cold on the grounds of his own business didn’t mean what everybody else understands that it means:

There’s “no way on God’s Green Earth” that Dillian Whyte, is any longer a serious legitimate contender for any of portion of the Heavyweight title.

And, if Povetkin isn’t in that better position after kayoing Whyte, then what’s the purpose of them having a rematch?

Still, that fight will probably happen late this year, provided that neither Whyte or Povetkin tests positive after this fight or in the future for banned substances. That’s something that both have had happen twice previously.

For now, all we are left with is Whyte (and to a lesser extent, Hearn) trying to explain how their plans went down the tubes from one wicked Russian uppercut.