Dillian Whyte hopes to revive his career after some tumultuous times as he faces Moses Itauma in the highest-stakes match-up of his life.
Dillian Whyte waited for over a year to get his shot at the world title after defeating Alexander Povetkin for the interim belt, but when it came around, ‘The Bodysnatcher’ failed to impress.
Since then, the Jamaican-British fighter has been plagued with inactivity, low-caliber opposition, unimpressive performances, and fight withdrawals.
Years on from the world title challenge that put him into a downward spiral, he will face Moses Itauma in a make-or-break fight for his career.
On his undercard is the man who may well have been the key to his most devastating loss to date.
David Adeleye was the perfect sparring partner to help Tyson Fury prepare for Dillian Whyte
In 2022, Whyte finally got his chance at the heavyweight crown as he faced 31-0-1 Tyson Fury.
Fury had finally put to bed the Deontay Wilder trilogy the year before, and faced Whyte in defense of his WBC title.
After almost 400 days spent waiting, ‘The Bodysnatcher’ was expected to bite down on his gumshield and put on a career-best performance against ‘The Gypsy King’, but instead squandered his chance at glory as he looked poor from the opening bell, and was stopped in six rounds by the Morecambe man.
Fury credited David Adeleye as a key element in his win, praising him in the changing rooms after his victory.
Fury told Adeleye, “Without you mate… You’re my f—— soldier, man. […] You made this happen. You’re my perfect sparring partner for the job. Same size, stronger.
Adeleye is now 14-1, having been defeated by Fabio Wardley, and is set for the biggest night of his career on Whyte’s undercard, as he faces Croatian ‘El Animal’, Filip Hrgovic.
Hrgovic vowed to take Adeleye’s soul ahead of the fight, and is the clear favorite to win on account of his more extensive experience, with wins over Zhilei Zhang (albeit controversially) and Joe Joyce, and only one loss at the hands of Daniel Dubois.
David Adeleye scored controversial victory last time out
In his last fight, Adeleye picked up the British title with a highly controversial win over Jeamie TKV.
Adeleye vs TKV saw the latter outbox ‘Big D’ for much of the fight, until the halfway point in the fight, in which Adeleye dropped TKV with a heavy shot after the referee had called break to split the pair apart in a clinch.
TKV fell to the canvas, and the referee began to count despite the clear foul. Instead of giving him any extra time, he brought the pair back together after TKV beat the account, and Adeleye dropped him once more, prompting the fight to be waved off.
TKV is now rumored to be facing Frazer Clarke for the British title on BBC in September.