Dillian Whyte and Moses Itauma have now weighed in for their highly anticipated heavyweight clash.
Dillian ‘The Bodysnatcher’ Whyte and Moses Itauma are now hours away from facing each other in the ring.
Whyte, who once snubbed Itauma by ignoring his message asking for sparring, now depends upon a win over the 20-year-old phenom to save his career from obscurity.
Itauma, meanwhile, must defeat Whyte if he is to come anywhere near the expectations put upon him, and a loss will mean a huge set back in his hopes for a world title, and his profile in the court of public opinion.
Ahead of the fight, both men may have given an indication of their strategies after hitting the scales.
Dillian Whyte and Moses Itauma weigh-in results tell all
With the sink-or-swim fight now looming, both men’s weights could dictate how the fight plays out.
‘The Bodysnatcher’ has come in at weight of 244.5 pounds, which marks the lightest he’s been in his career since 2015. It is also a far cry from his 271-pound career heaviest weight from when he fought Mariusz Wach.
Whyte’s weight loss shocked fans as footage emerged of him deep in training camp, and his new and impressive shape could be part of a strategy in which he drags Itauma into deep waters.
Whyte may have shed the weight in order to evade Itauma’s lethal power in the early rounds, and pick him apart as the fight goes on. Whyte’s coach, Buddy McGirt, said Whyte must slow Itauma down if he is to defeat him.
Itauma, meanwhile, weighed in at 245.5 pounds. This marks a nine pound difference from his most recent fight against Mike Balogun, which he won via second-round stoppage.
The weight could indicate that Itauma, too, plans to use his movement, and that he is ready to use his cardio if Whyte drags him into the latter stages of the fight.
Either way, it seems both men have a clear game plan ahead of Saturday night.
Dillian Whyte failed to perform at his heaviest weight
In 2019, Whyte faced Mariusz Wach, the only man to face both Whyte and Itauma, and failed to impress.
In the wake of three big wins over Joseph Parker, Derek Chisora, and Oscar Rivas, Whyte was expected to impress against the veteran in Wach, who shared the ring with Wladimir Klitschko.
However, following a failed drug test after the Rivas fight, it seems Whyte was not in the best place in his career, as he entered the ring 11 pounds heavier than he ever had before.
His weight did not benefit him, as instead of adding knockout power, it instead forced Whyte to push Wach to a labored points decision instead.
He won by unanimous decision, but made sure to get in shape for his next fight, losing almost 20 pounds to face Alexander Povetkin.