Eddie Hearn believes Dillian Whyte has the necessary tools to hand Tyson Fury his first defeat and snatch his world heavyweight title.
The Matchroom Boxing boss hasn't decided whether or not he will attend the fight, having promoted the majority of Whyte's career as a pay-per-view star. But he has promised to be watching the event, vowing to buy the PPV if he can't make it to Wembley on Saturday night.
Hearn attempted to promote the fight himself, making a world record purse bid that was beaten by Frank Warren's huge £31million offering. And the promoter is backing Whyte to defeat Fury, believing his knockout power coupled with an underrated technical ability could be enough to get the job done.
“I’m not going to sit and tell you that he wins because of this and that, but I will tell you is that he can win this fight,” Hearn told iFL TV about Whyte's chances against Fury. “He [Whyte] has the ability to take you out with one shot, he’s technically better than people think, he’s incredibly fit, incredibly durable and he has a big set of balls."
And Hearn believes Whyte will need to use his abilities as a body puncher to set up opportunities for his massive left hook to arrive and land on Fury. The champion is a massive favourite, but also understands the potential dangers that Whyte poses.
“It’s going to be very difficult to get into a rhythm against Tyson Fury," Hearn continued. "I expect Tyson Fury to be winning the fight, perhaps at all times during the fight. But if he switches off for one moment, Dillian Whyte is a fantastic body puncher and has a fantastic left hook that can take you out with one shot.
“Dillian can win this fight. He’s an underdog in this fight, and Tyson Fury is a brilliant heavyweight, he’s the best heavyweight in the world right now on paper. He’s the favourite in the fight, but Dillian Whyte can win this fight if he gets it right or if they trade up, and they will trade up, trust me. You could see a knockout like Whyte-Chisora."
Fury has improved on his punching power since joining up with coach SugarHill Steward and adopting an aggressive Kronk Gym style, and landed two knockouts over Deontay Wilder to prove it. But Hearn still believes that Whyte is the power-puncher of the two, even arguing that Fury is still not a heavy-hitter for his size.
“If Tyson Fury gets buttoned by Dillian Whyte’s left hook, it’s over," said Hearn, before declaring Whyte the heavier puncher. "I don’t think Tyson Fury is a big puncher. Everyone can punch, but Dillian Whyte with his left hook, he’s probably one of the best-left hookers in the division. Even in the sport, he has a fantastic left hook.
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“He’ll catch and counter. Watch the Povetkin knockdowns, watch the Chisora knockout. If he does that against Tyson Fury, he’ll win the fight. Look at his resume as well, he didn’t knock out Klitschko. Chisora retired on his stool because he was like getting peppered.
“Show me the clean knockout Tyson Fury has had in his career against any elite opposition. Show me a proper stoppage. The Wilder fight in the last fight, I’ll give you that, but previously, it’s volume punches. He is not a one-punch knockout artist.
"His level of opposition. When you go back and you look at Tom Schwarz, Sefer Seferi, Francesco Pianeta, Christian Hammer. Anyway, I don’t want to get into it. In my opinion, you've got one."
