Dillian Whyte Talks On His Mindset at Final Presser!
On the eve of arguably the most important fight of his career, Dillian “Body Snatcher” Whyte got one last bit of meaningful motivation.
He recently learned that the winner of his next prizefight with Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas will become the interim WBC heavyweight titlist. Along with this distinction, victory guarantees the winner a 2020 shot at champion Deontay Wilder.
Wilder has held the strap the last four and a half years. In fact, Wilder’s November 9 rematch with Luis “King King” Ortiz will mark his tenth title defense.
The Body Snatcher has been angling himself in position for a fight with Wilder for the better part of two years. Now, it appears he is just one more fight away from officially being guaranteed his shot at the WBC gold!
As his fight with Rivas approached, Whyte’s Wilder-heavy talking points did not waiver. This led many to speculate that he was potentially overlooking his imminent challenge.
During the final press conference before the bout, the Body Snatcher took the time to crush any lingering doubts that he was not giving Rivas the proper focus.
“You know me man, we been working for a while, I don’t overlook no one. I train hard for everyone.
“The violence of this sport excites me, you know. So, I train for it. You know what I mean? I love that! I train for that and I’m ready for that.”
When given the opportunity to talk, Whyte drenched Rivas in praise. While a good measure of the accolades had the ring of sincerity, much of the kudos came across as sounding tongue in cheek.
Kaboom had the chance to put together a very respectable amateur career, which has been highlighted in length. Seemingly, the Body Snatcher had grown tired of hearing his opponent’s praises so regularly sung.
“The man is dangerous, look at him, he’s got it all. You know, like his team said. He’s got a great team, he’s trained in Columbia, he trained there, he done this, then he come over and he adopted to the time zone and all this other stuff.
“Hundreds of amateur fights and all this other stuff, but that means nothing. This is, going to be a [great] fight!”
Come fight night, we will have to see if the last minute addition of being named the interim champion is an inspiration or distraction.
There is the very real potential that Whyte may fight overly aggressive or unusually carefully, in an effort to secure the mandatory position he has so doggedly chased. Only time will tell how it all plays out.
Thankfully, this significant wildcard of a bout is just around the corner!
By: Bakari Simpson
Be the first to comment