JOHNNY NELSON: Whyte can beat Fury if he reverts to the dark arts

JOHNNY NELSON: Dillian Whyte can win his world heavyweight title showdown with Tyson Fury if he reverts to the dark arts… but my head says the Gypsy King will take victory

• Tyson Fury defends his WBC heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte on Saturday
• Fury is the favourite but Whyte has the ability to spring a huge surprise
• Fight at Wembley is expected to attract a British record attendance for boxing 

The waiting is almost over. Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte clash for the WBC world heavyweight title in an eagerly-anticipated showdown at Wembley Stadium.

Most have Fury down to win comfortably but Whyte could cause an upset if he resorts to the dark arts and frustrates the Gypsy King.

Fury has been knocked down in the past and Whyte – the Body Snatcher – has the attributes to put the defending champion on the canvas. 

Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte meet in a WBC heavyweight title clash at Wembley on Saturday

Here, Sportsmail assesses where the fight – set to attract a record crowd – will be won and lost. 

STRENGTHS

Tyson has supreme confidence. Mentally he is reinforced by the fact he has delivered on the biggest stage. His height, weight and reach are all difficult to contend with and he is fast and nimble for a big guy. 

Tyson also has a great boxing intelligence, knowing when to utilise a smooth jab or mix it up and fight. It makes him pretty formidable and almost unbeatable.

Defending champion Fury will be supremely confident coming into the showdown with Whyte

Whyte has a strong punch and has the ability to knock down the Gypsy King in the fight

Dillian is very, very strong and has deceptively long arms. He’s a bit like Sonny Liston where he can whip in a punch when seemingly out of reach and generates a lot of power, often catching opponents by surprise. 

He lives for fighting. With his brute strength and mixed martial arts background he doesn’t mind getting hit to find a way through.

WEAKNESSES

Tyson is more effective at going forwards than when he is on the backfoot. As he is so tall, he holds his hands low so he leaves himself open to the right hand over the top which has caught him out on occasion. Complacency is his other danger. Against Deontay Wilder he thought he was in control but still got caught.

Fury was sent to the canvas by Deontay Wilder – but was still able to win the contest

The uppercut through the guard has proved a KO blow to Dillian once too often and his corner will be eager he defends that better. Tyson will understandably be looking for it. Dillian has also become too refined in his style. He needs to revert to using the rougher, dark arts that served him so well when he first came through.

TACTICS

Tyson will do his best to frustrate, humiliate and goad Dillian into making a mistake. Like he did with Wladimir Klitschko, he’ll look to prick his ego, maybe showboat and undermine him so that Dillian slips up and fights at the pace Tyson wants to dictate. 

For his part, Dillian needs to bumrush Tyson. Box and bash, punching to his body, bullying him if possible like a rushing whirlwind making himself as awkward as possible to handle.

The Gypsy King is the favourite for victory but he will not have it all his own way against Whyte

VERDICT

The head tells me Tyson Fury wins but Dillian will go very close to springing a surprise and I think he’ll have Tyson down at some point.

I know Dillian well and he has a fierce determination to win this title. The motivation is huge. If he pulls this off he could be in the most lucrative position of any modern fighter. He is not tied to anyone so he can dictate his own terms as the man who could hold all the jewels in the division.

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