Dillian Whyte never had it easy growing up. Born in Portland, Jamaica in 1988, Whyte’s upbringing wasn’t a pleasant one.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said:
“My mum left me when I was two years old, to come to the UK, so I didn’t see her for 11 years, bouncing around from one family to another. My dad was there but he’s old school, his mind set was ‘If you’re not dead you’re okay’ so that was it.”
“Going 3-4 days without eating food just learning to survive, that taught me how to adapt to different situations from an early age.”
Difficult Beginning
When Whyte moved to the UK aged 12, things didn’t get much easier, struggling to fit in due to his background.
In a conversation with Sky Sports Pundit Anna Woolhouse, Whyte shared the difficulties of coming to the United Kingdom.
“It was a bit of a culture shock, I spoke differently to everybody else, I had a different mindset. When I started going to school, everyone had already formed their pact and I was that guy that spoke differently from anybody else.”
“For me I got into the wrong company, I started hanging with the wrong people, one thing led to another and next thing I know I was getting into trouble all the time.”
Without boxing, Whyte said he’d be “in prison or probably dead, that’s the simple truth of the matter, I’m grateful that I found this sport and I found discipline.”
First Meeting with Joshua
Boxing was introduced into Whyte’s life when a friend took him down to Flaxman Sports Centre where he began boxing. Beginning his combat sports career as a kickboxer, Whyte turned to boxing after meeting trainer and former Commonwealth Cruiserweight Champion Chris Okoh.
Whyte only had six amateur fights, winning five by KO. In his first amateur bout, Whyte took on Anthony Joshua and beat him by unanimous decision over three rounds to start one of the biggest rivalries in boxing today.
Two-Year Hiatus
Whyte turned professional under promoter Frank Maloney and had a record of 9-0 when he was suspended for two years for testing positive for banned substances.
Although Whyte didn’t knowingly take the substance, he failed to seek professional medical advice, meaning the two-year ban could not be reduced.
Whyte was distraught, telling Matt Slater of the BBC:
“I probably would have been better off taking steroids because there seems to be people in boxing taking steroids, lying about it and getting less than me, I don’t know why they would make an example of me.”
Showdown With AJ
Whyte nicknamed ‘The Body snatcher’ would return from his UKAD suspension in October 2014, defeating Ante Veronica in comfortable fashion.
Whyte began to make a name for himself after a few more wins and after defeating Brian Minto he became next in line to challenge the darling of British boxing Anthony Joshua.
Despite being a heavy underdog, Whyte believed he had what was needed to beat Joshua and take home the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles after his victory over him in the unpaid ranks.
Despite not winning the fight, Whyte showed he could compete against the big names after having Joshua struggling at times in the fight and of course hitting him with that infamous left hook in the second round.
His courageous performance earned him a multi-fight deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
In an interview for iFl Tv Whyte stated that the fight the Olympic champion was close.
“I clipped him and his legs was all over the place, it was just one of those ones where we’re both big guys, we’re both big punchers.
I made a couple mistakes but that’s it, he fought well, we’re both British fighters, I’ll be back in the new year, couple of wins and I’ll be right back here again.”
The humility that Whyte showed post-fight started to turn the British boxing fans onto his side and this new-found popularity saw his nickname change from Dillian ‘The Villain’ Whyte to ‘The Body Snatcher’.
Rise Through The Ranks
In November 2016, Whyte faced the controversial Dereck Chisora in what was considered to be one of the best heavyweight fights in recent time.
Whyte took victory on the night by split decision as he continued up the World Boxing Council rankings to get a shot at American World Champion Deontay Wilder.
In March of this year, Dillian Whyte headlined for the first time since his loss to Anthony Joshua, taking on the unbeaten, former world champion Lucas Browne.
In what was a big test for Whyte, he passed with flying colours, winning by a sixth-round knockout and the attention turned straight towards a potential bout with the American champion.
Dillian Ready For Wilder
The trash-talking between the pair began, with Wilder labelling Whyte ‘a peasant’, saying in his post-fight interview for Showtime correspondent against Bermane Stiverne:
“The king don’t chase peasants like I said, you know we throw lettuce at him and spoiled tomatoes he can eat that.”
Whyte hit back in an interview for Sky Sports saying that Wilder ‘is an embarrassment’.
Career-defining fight
Unfortunately, a deal could not be agreed between the pair and Whyte was ordered by the IBF to fight experienced Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in his hometown in what was a final eliminator for Anthony Joshua’s IBF World Title, but a surprising deal was struck for Whyte to fight former world champion in Joseph Parker.
Both men had only one loss on their record, both to Anthony Joshua and this was promised to be the biggest test of Whyte’s career since his fight with AJ in 2015. The fight was live from the O2 Arena on Sky Sports Box Office and nothing was going to deter Whyte from taking victory on his biggest night to date.
A unanimous victory over Joseph Parker, the second world champion added to his record in as many fights, meant the Brixton fighter had cemented himself as one of the worlds top heavyweights.
Path To Glory
However, options for Whyte’s next fight were limited. Deontay Wilder was fresh of a victory against Luis Ortiz and eyeing a potential showdown with former unified World Champion Tyson Fury, and Anthony Joshua was pre-occupied with his World Title defence against Alexander Povetkin.
With both World Champions unavailable, there was one man the British public demanded for and that was his former foe, Dereck Chisora.
The blockbuster showdown will take place on December 22nd at the O2 Arena and will be live on Sky Sports Box Office and promises to be an absolute classic with both men eyeing a potential fight with Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium on Aprli 13th.
