Xavier Miller sees no advantage for Dillian Whyte in Alexander Povetkin rematch!
Xavier Miller, trainer of top heavyweight contender Dillian “The Body Snatcher” Whyte (27-2, 18KOs), sees no advantage heading into their incredibly important rematch with Alexander “Russian Vityaz” Povetkin (36-2-1, 25KOs).
Back on August 22, 2020, Whyte and Miller’s professional dreams came crashing down! That was courtesy of a Povetkin left uppercut that put Whyte to sleep immediately before he hit the canvas. Before that left uppercut landed, Whyte dominated the action by scoring two knockdowns. The loss would snap the impressive eleven fight win streak the Body Snatcher was on, as well as cost him his WBC mandatory position.
After initially being set to fight again on November 21, the fight was postponed due to Povetkin testing positive for COVID-19. Now, with Povetkin fully healthy, the two are set to get reacquainted on March 6.
MILLER SEES NO ADVANTAGE FOR WHYTE!
One may think that Whyte has an advantage heading into the rematch due to Povetkin having had COVID-19. However, that is not the thinking of Whyte’s trainer. He told Pep Talk UK the following:
“Definitely not. Because the fight’s been delayed, he’s had enough time to recover. So, when the fight’s done, I don’t want to hear any excuses. You know, he’s had more than a enough time to prepare and get ready, you know we’ve kept ticking over, as we’ve been doing the whole of 2020 anyway, just working in the gym getting better.
If you’re not fit to fight, don’t fight. […] every interview I’ve done, you’ve asked me about the first fight and I’ve been consistent. I’ve not made any excuses for what happened. You know he was doing very, very well in the fight, Dillian and he made one mistake and in heavyweight boxing, sometimes that’s all you need. To me, close that book, it’s done. That chapter’s finished. We got the rematch, we just focus.”
The mindset is right, especially considering how the first fight went. Whyte dominated, only to get caught with a shot he did not see coming. Povetkin’s contraction of COVID-19 also should not play a role in determining the outcome of this fight, as he has had time to fully recover. At the age of 41, he has shown that he is more than capable of getting the job done. Therefore, it is paramount that team Whyte focus on not having a mental lapse that will allow for a similar outcome as the first throw down.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
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