With a shot to become WBC’s No.1 contender, there’s a lot on the line for this Saturday’s showdown between Dillian Whyte and Lucas Browne at London’s O2 Arena.
Eddie Hearn has already guaranteed the winner of the bout will have a crack at WBC Champion Deontay Wilder, but Australian Browne will need to be at the top of his game to take down the ‘Body-Snatcher from Brixton’, Whyte.
‘Body-snatcher’ to claim another victim
Dillian Whyte holds the WBC Silver heavyweight belt and has 22 wins from 23 professional bouts – 16 of those by knockout, with his only defeat coming at the hands of another world champ, Anthony Joshua.
Whyte is perhaps unfairly remembered for his one and only loss at the hands of Joshua, but since then has strung together six wins including a dramatic slugfest against Dereck Chisora. This victory was huge in helping Whyte re-building his status in becoming a No.1 contender again.
Whether Whyte will eventually get the chance to avenge his 2015 loss to AJ – a man he once beat as an amateur – remains to be seen. For now, the 29-year-old will be fully focused on pulling apart Australian Browne this weekend.
The Brit believes that Lucas Browne will present a different challenge due to his unorthodox style, but Whyte is still fancied to overcome the 38-year-old. He’s 1/4 favourite with Grosvenorsport.com.
Big-hitter Browne not to be underestimated
Lucas Browne goes into this fight undefeated after 29 professional bouts, and at the age of 38, he’ll know this will be his last shot at glory.
The Australian has been lamented for his unnatural style of boxing, with critics saying he’s uneasy on the eye. While Saturday’s opponent Whyte is known to move fluidly, there’s a lack of rhythm with Browne and the underdog will likely struggle with Whyte’s speed having not boxed since March 2016.
However, Browne can hit hard, and with 22 KOs from his 25 fights, he shouldn’t be underestimated. The Aussie will be aware that his best chance could be to tempt his opponent into a reckless move this Saturday.
Browne is 3/1 to pull off a shock result with Grosvenorsport.com.
Whyte looks a safe bet
Make no mistake, Whyte will see Browne as a stepping stone to securing a title opportunity. The bad blood between these two after a public war of words will spur both on, but this is Browne’s fight in two years, and I think Whyte will have too much in the tank for this one.
Browne’s best bet is turning this into a slugfest and trying to manufacture a way of hurting Whyte with a big hit. Whyte, however, could use this as a chance to own the ring without taking risks and let his fitness prevail to secure the win.
Whyte has too much to lose to be drawn into anything risky, and I think he’ll be cagey for the majority of this one to make sure he sees off his opponent without any complications. He looks decent value to win on points at 10/11.
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