Due to the fact that he’s been sold to us for so long as a true pay-per-view star, whether A-side or B-side, it’s hard not to rate Dillian Whyte equally heavily. the metric we will use to judge the other so-called top heavyweights.
It’s probably not his fault – although, admittedly, he’s done a great job of promoting himself as a “superstar” – but, despite that, it puts Whyte in a rut difficult position, especially when trying to win over the likes of Jermaine Franklin. whom he defeated via controversial majority decision (115-115 and 116-112, 116-112) tonight (November 26) at Wembley.
Because if Whyte is really The superstar he and others have tried to convince us that he is, he certainly looks better beating Franklin, an unproven but undefeated American, than he did. He will make a statement. He will prevail. He will, aware that there are still bigger battles ahead, will do all he can to distance himself from the likes of Franklin – a 13-1 loser – and bolster his claim. him that he’s in the same league as the likes of Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
As it happens, the way Whyte beat Franklin tonight only highlights the disparity between him and the aforementioned. Furthermore, despite the sometimes entertaining nature of the match, Whyte vs. Franklin ended up being the kind of fight one would expect to see on ESPN2 in the early 2000s, again, just because today’s boxers tell you they’re the best superstars. necessarily means better quality than we’ve seen in an era when social media was not readily available as a tool for self-promotion.
In other words, just because Dillian Whyte and the like tell you his matches are high-paying matches doesn’t mean you’ll always get value for money. Of course, he’ll entertain, as he did tonight, if he gets to fight boxers of the same type (and Franklin certainly is). But, in the end, the reason why he falls short every time he goes to the next level becomes apparent not only in those particular moments but also, if you block out the noise and focus on what you are watching. , in battles like tonight: a battle of sideline candidates and nothing more.
Whyte Attacks Franklin’s Body (Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
Indeed, very early on, when one would expect Whyte to try to assert himself against Franklin, we instead introduced the act of two-way competition, with it becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between the two. The heavyweight is who has challenged the world title and who is the previous world title challenger. unproven candidate. Whyte will be watching Franklin from the center ring, thus imposing himself geographically if not physically, but every time he opens his heart to the smaller man, he finds Franklin readily available. ready to fire back, seemingly unaffected by the Londoner’s punching power.
In fact, Franklin was the image of composure for much of the war. Smaller but faster, he uses the ring to good effect, frequently moving in and out of range, and when confident enough to trade, he will deliver quick punches his way. Whyte, usually ends these combos with a slash to the body. This, if nothing else, gave Whyte something to think about on his way in and ensured that he couldn’t move forward and bully Franklin, who is currently 21-1 (14). He was also burned at times by Franklin, most notably in the ninth round, and will no doubt be reminded of his recent knockout losses to Tyson Fury and Alexander Povetkin.
Perhaps that is why it is not advisable to judge too harshly about this performance of Whyte. As happened just seven months after being stopped by Fury, Whyte, 29-3 (19), is sure to experience some sort of hangover from that night – the build-up, the knockout – and will witness This battle of Franklin, despite the importance attached to it, is anticlictic by comparison. He will also now be aware of his own fragility and will know, having been significantly knocked out in his three professional defeats, that he cannot simply wade into opponents and Expect to stand upright when exiting.
Perhaps stuck between styles – that is, caught between doing what comes naturally to him and doing what he needs to do to protect himself – Whyte is currently a strong contender. in transition and one has to wonder, based on tonight’s performance, if he will always be able to strike a balance between successfully using his strengths, of which there are many, and successfully defended its weaknesses, all of which are now known to the rest of the division.
Franklin knocks Whyte down with his right hand (Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
