Almost starved, almost killed
The destructive life of boxing star Dillian Whyte
By Tobias Nordman
4/21/2022, 8:12 p.m
Tyson Fury gets back in the ring. And according to its own announcement for the last time. His career is set to end with a resounding win over Dillian Whyte in the Wembley spectacle. But the blatant outsider tells a remarkable story that makes him dangerous.
Dillian Whyte wants to overthrow the king on his last journey. It leads the king, Tyson Fury, to the legendary Wembley Arena this Saturday evening. 94,000 people will be there live in London when one of the very best and craziest heavyweight boxers ever asks for the final fight. The 2.06 meter tall giant called it out again. And he insists that this time it’s serious. That it’s finally over when he’s defeated Whyte in the British duel for the WBC crown.
And that will happen tonight. Experts and betting providers more than agree on that. Only two people don’t seem to see things as clearly as predicted. Whyte himself. And Fury, the loudmouth, the guy who likes to beat up his opponents verbally as well as with his fists in the ring. The odds are “obviously from people who don’t know anything about boxing,” he said. “This is a heavyweight boxing match that anyone can win in one punch. If I’m not at my best, this man is going to knock my head off my shoulders .” Which would throw off plans for his retirement.
In fact, Whyte has a reputation, documented many times over, that his left hook is one of the best in the world. A real knockout weapon. The 34-year-old is officially 13 centimeters smaller than Fury, but he can bring extreme power to his shots from his beefy body. During his time as an amateur, he once put an opponent in a coma for several weeks. His combat name is “The Bodysnatcher”. Because of his blatant life story, Whyte is considered a guy who doesn’t put up with anything. And now, at the age of 34, he senses his career opportunity. In front of just 94,000 spectators, the largest number of spectators at a boxing match in the 21st century – and the largest at a heavyweight world championship since 1927.
“I do everything you have to do”
Fury’s mandatory challenger was born in Jamaica, but he grew up very close to Wembley Stadium, where he is now fighting the fight of his life. In his youth, Whyte became involved in London gang crime. He was shot and stabbed, and at the age of 13 he fathered the first of his three children. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” Whyte said. “I’m that kind of fighter who will do whatever it takes to do it. I’m not afraid to take risks – I’ve been taking risks my whole life .”
And he fought his way to where he will be now: on the biggest stage in boxing. In a duel with the greatest of his time. His old sparring partner Fury. And it reveals an unusual, tender side for the old friend. Hostile verbal attacks? Minor scuffles? none. Fury mainly distributed niceties on the final PK. And caused a big laugh. “We were good friends, we went out for drinks, ate together, we slept together,” said the 33-year-old world champion – and finally had to laugh himself. “What?” Whyte replied. “We didn’t sleep together, brother.”
They are still joking together, but on Saturday night everyone is fighting for themselves. Fury for his own legend. And Whyte about finally being included in the first guard of the extraordinary boxers of his time. Because the last two fights against Alexander Povetkin are still hanging on him. On his reputation as a boxer. In the first duel with the Russian, he was surprised by a devastating uppercut that “threw Whyte’s head back with disgusting force,” as the English “Guardian” wrote at the time. Whyte was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Toughest fights for toughest soldiers
Although he won the rematch, Povetkin was apparently not in full possession of his strength. The fight had been postponed twice because of a severe Covid 19 infection, the now 42-year-old Russian even had to be treated in the hospital and struggled with the consequences of the disease for a long time. Before the second duel, Whyte had said about his second defeat as a professional boxer: “If I said that sometimes it doesn’t get me down, I would be lying. But my mother always says that God gives his toughest fights to his strongest soldiers. I plow keep going because I don’t know anything else.”
His mother was tough as nails, a soldier. Whyte tells The Guardian a story: “I was born in a storm, the night of a hurricane in Jamaica, and we survived. It ripped off part of the roof of our house, but my mom is a soldier and she just climbed under the table to witness the deed to do – at least from what they tell me. So adversity is the story of my life.”
Adversity is also the story of the relationship with his mother. At the age of two she left her son in Jamaica. She wanted to fight for a better life together. They didn’t see each other until he was 13. “But even though she wasn’t there, I felt her,” he told the Guardian. He always admired his mother. “And when we got back together she always apologized. I said no, you went to England to give us all a better life. It took longer than you thought but I’m here.”
“I’ve felt a lot of pain in life”
His mother tried to keep in touch. She wrote letters. He couldn’t read them. And no one else was there to help him either. “The people I stayed with didn’t do a good job.” He became a survivor. Once he didn’t eat anything for two or three days. A formative experience. One he would gladly have done without. “I’ve felt a lot of pain in life, suffered ups and downs, mentally and physically. But the pain of hunger is insane. But these things shaped me and gave me such a positive view of life. No matter how hard life is now is, I’m still better than I was then.”
There was a father too. His attitude toward the son: If the boy isn’t dead, then he’s okay. He solved problems in his own way. With violence. Not against Dillian, but against those who didn’t mean well by him. There were also many of them in London, where he met his mother again. The father was gone now, so Whyte went for it himself. Three times he felt close to death. “I’ve been shot and stabbed. You can’t outrun bullets so you need luck. Most of the time I was a stupid kid running around London wreaking havoc. It’s criminal and you think going to jail is cool. But There’s nothing cool about that – you’re an idiot.”