Dillian Whyte has been warned he is "over the hill" ahead of his world heavyweight title fight with Tyson Fury next week.
After years of waiting for his mandatory position with the WBC to be honoured, Whyte gets his chance at the gold in front of 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium on April 23. But renowned boxing promoter Dmitry Salita believes there is very little chance that the London native will become champion, saying that he is past it at the top level.
Salita, who promotes Whyte's heavyweight rival Otto Wallin among a host of other major names, has said that he thinks it will be a comfortable night for Fury when the pair square off at the national stadium. Whyte and Wallin were set to square off in London last October, but their relationship has soured after the Brit pulled out with a shoulder injury and later accepted the Fury fight.
“Dillian Whyte's trainer Harold Knight is one of the most unheralded and one of the biggest secrets in the sport of boxing," Salita told Vegas Insider. "A great guy with a great boxing mind and I have a lot of respect for him. He came on the team before the Povetkin rematch but the difference in skills and talent between Fury and Whyte is so wide that I don’t think anyone can help him.
"Tyson Fury and trainer SugarHill's mentality, style and philosophy are very much in sync. They complete each other. They match, they make each other whole. I think Tyson is almost unbeatable with Sugar in his corner.
“Harold has added and will add to Dillian Whyte 's preparations, but Sugar and Tyson come together like a puzzle, a perfect circle. I'm sorry to say this but I give Dillian Whyte no chance. The fight will go as long as Tyson Fury wants it to go, as long as he wants it to go.
"Tyson has fought at a higher level, he's at the peak of his career - I don't think Dillian Whyte is at his peak, I think he's over the hill. Even if he was at his peak he could not mess with Tyson."
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Salita's comments were not without some upside, with the promoter declaring Whyte is a "world-class" heavyweight, just not quite at Fury's elite level. "Dillian is a solid, world-class heavyweight, it's an exciting fight for British boxing, but Tyson Fury is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time," he said.
Whyte finally addressed the fight at a press conference last night after weeks of remaining silent. Fury had been burdened with promoting the fight alone after Whyte refused to participate for most of the build-up, but he has now been joined by his rival.
Whyte explained his absence by detailing that there were issues in the contract for the fight, which will see both men paid huge sums after a world record £31million purse bid from Frank Warren. But they have been resolved, and the fight will go ahead with a record-breaking 94,000-person crowd at Wembley Stadium next week.
