- Dillian Whyte watched Johnny Fisher's majority decision win over Michael Pirotton ringside and said he is “well up for that fight”
- Whyte predicted a quick finish: “I'll be surprised if it goes past three or four rounds”
- Sky Sports pundit Johnny Nelson has warned the Fisher camp against taking the fight, saying Whyte has too much experience at this stage
Whyte Watched The Pirotton Fight And Liked What He Saw
Right then. Dillian Whyte was ringside at the Copper Box to watch Johnny Fisher labour to a majority decision over Michael Pirotton, and instead of being put off, he has come out the other side wanting the fight even more. "Johnny Fisher has been calling me out for a while... I'm well up for that fight," Whyte said afterwards, and given how open Fisher looked against a limited Belgian, you can see why the Brixton man fancies it.
Whyte, back on the comeback trail himself after losing to Moses Itauma last August, was not shy about where he sees the gap in class. "He's a bit erratic and he's open in lots of areas but he's dangerous," Whyte said of Fisher, before adding the line that will end up on every boxing account by tea time: "I'll be surprised if it goes past three or four rounds."
A Stepping Stone, But A Dangerous One
What I find refreshing here is that Whyte is not even pretending this is a 50-50 fight for him, and he does not need to be. "Big overhand rights really. That's it really, but I've fought the best of my generation," was his blunt assessment of Fisher's toolkit, and he has earned the right to talk like that after sharing a ring with genuine world-class operators for over a decade. "I don't mind being a stepping stone because you need a stepping stone to step somewhere else," he added, which tells you exactly how he sees this fight even if Fisher's promoters are selling it as a genuine 50-50.
Sky Sports analyst Johnny Nelson was watching from the studio and did not love what he saw either. He has cautioned the Fisher camp to be smart with matchmaking rather than jumping straight to a name like Whyte, who Nelson believes still carries too much experience for where Fisher is at right now. If you know boxing, you know that warning usually gets ignored the moment a promoter smells a pay-per-view number.
The Verdict
Make no mistake, this is a fight I want to see and one I think Fisher's promoters will eventually make, ticket sales being what they are with the Romford Bull's fanbase. But Nelson has a point, and so does Whyte, frankly — I have watched Fisher get hit clean far too often against levels well below Whyte's, and a proper heavyweight who has fought Joshua, Chisora twice and Povetkin is exactly the kind of test that exposes gaps rather than closes them. My prediction, if this gets made: Whyte inside four rounds, exactly as he called it. Fisher needs one or two easier nights first, not this one.