Dillian Whyte was on the losing side of his heavyweight headline bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when he took on rising star Moses Itauma.
There were just two minutes gone when Itauma knocked out Whyte in the pair’s heavyweight bout, as the 20-year-old improved his record to 13-0.
Capping off an entertaining card in Saudi Arabia, some fans were not impressed with the matchmaking in hindsight of the one-sided result.
However, one former world champion has made a claim which could act explanatory for the way the fight turned out.
Sunny Edwards claims Dillian Whyte entered Moses Itauma fight injured
Former flyweight world champion Sunny Edwards has made a notable claim regarding Whyte’s condition going into the fight.
An Instagram story posted just prior to the beginning of Itauma vs Whyte on the account @sunnyedwards read, “Got a call today saying Whyte’s leg is —— and it’s going early. This ring walk ain’t convincing me otherwise.”
Whyte did not remain in the ring following his fight to conduct a post-fight interview, so it is currently unclear as to whether or not the injury was legitimate.
The veteran fighter suffered a knockout loss in just under two minutes of his headline bout. A hook from the young star Itauma was the beginning of the end, as the referee waved off the fight in the opening round.
It is also currently unclear as to whether or not it will be the last time Whyte competes as a professional boxer, with many calling for the former interim world champion to retire.
Dillian Whyte suffers fourth stoppage defeat in 14-year career
Itauma became the first fighter to put Whyte out in the first round in his impressive headline performance.
It was the fourth loss of ‘The Body Snatcher’s’ career as his professional tally fell to 31-4.
The first loss of the heavyweight’s career came to amateur rival Anthony Joshua in 2015. Whyte was then stopped again five years later against Alexander Povetkin.
The finishes from Joshua and Povetkin came in the seventh and fifth rounds respectively.
The most recent stoppage loss for Whyte going into his meeting with Itauma was against Tyson Fury. Meeting in Wembley Stadium, ‘The Gypsy King’ scored an uppercut knockout in round six.