Dillian Whyte Has No Qualms of Being the Underdog

Talking to reporters ahead of the fight, Whyte opened up about coming in as an underdog in the fight. He mentioned that fighters often get hyped out of proportion, only to have them face an equally gargantuan fall.

“We’ve seen it time and again where all these guys built up, they’re knocking everybody out, they’re contenders, prospects,” he said. “Sometimes these guys get rushed, or sometimes they get blown out of proportion, and then things go wrong.”

Heading into fight night, Itauma is undoubtedly the betting favourite when compared to the veteran. With the WBA International and WBO Inter-Continental titles under his belt, all within two years of turning pro and impressive knockouts against Mike Balogun and Demsey McKean, to add to his repertoire, Itauma has surely made a name for himself.

Meanwhile, Whyte has faced major names over the past 10 years, coming close, but never quite winning a world title.

Whyte mentioned that he has been used to being “written off” both in his career and his life.

“It’s unpredictable. I believe in myself. Listen, I’m getting written off, but this isn’t new. Even when I was beating these guys as a No. 1 contender, I was still getting written off,” he said. “Not just in boxing, my whole life I’ve been written off. Obviously, my background, where I’ve come from, I ain’t got no amateur pedigree. I never had no big promoter. I’ve done stuff the hard way.”

“Ain’t No Sheeps”

Meanwhile, Whyte is not undermining his opponent and highlighted that there was no weakness in his game. The recent press conference saw Itauma using “the wolf and sheep metaphor” to describe his opponent. However, Whyte undoubtedly had a sure-footed response.

“We’re all heavyweights; any fight can end at any point. I’m not delusional,” Itauma said. “I know what threat Dillian Whyte poses. I’m not overlooking him, I’m taking him seriously.” Whyte, on the other hand, was quick to dismiss his words by saying, “Ain’t no sheeps around here. A lot of wolves, but no sheeps.”