By: Sean Crose
After being knocked out by a butt from Tyson Fury last spring, Dillian Whyte was hoping to get back into form on Saturday when he took on undefeated heavyweight rival Jermain Franklin in London. Franklin showed he could take on longtime rival Whyte in the first bout, standing in front of his men and countering. Both landed well in the second inning, although Whyte seemed to be the more aggressive of the two.
In season three, it seems Franklin has a significant speed advantage. Furthermore, Franklin again began to make effective combinations. By the fourth game, Franklin was fighting his more famous opponent. While Franklin continued the game in the fifth inning, Whyte landed well and competently. He also appeared to control the tempo of the show. What is being talked about Friday is the fact that Whyte largely seems to control geography through his forward movement and patience.
Whyte put his stab to good use in the seventh inning, and was then able to knock out his man. Franklin worked to get his man in season eight. Not afraid to be rough, he was warned by the referee for pushing Whyte forward. Game 9 saw a slow round, which is not surprising because this is a fight between two big boys. However, in the final few seconds of the chapter, Franklin was able to actually land repeatedly on his man.
Whyte looked like he almost injured Franklin in the tenth round, but the veteran boxer didn’t seem capable of dealing serious damage in his body. Boxers fight each other in the eleventh round. It was an enjoyable three minutes. Every man could have had his moments in the twelfth and very high octane final round, but it was Whyte who walked out of the ring with a decisive majority victory.
