Eddie Hearn's Fight Camp concludes on Saturday and boxing expert Chris Oliver is hoping to finish on a high - check out his free betting preview here.
Recommended bets
2pts Dillian Whyte to win in rounds 7-12 at 3/1
2pts Jack Cullen to win by KO/TKO or Disqualification at 7/2
Eddie Hearn's four-week Fight Camp series comes to an end on Saturday and the best may have been saved for last.
The shows in the garden of Matchroom HQ have been extremely well delivered and produced some thrilling action, but one thing missing has been some heavyweights with bad intentions and that all changes when Dillian Whyte takes on Alexander Povetkin in the pay-per-view finale.
Whyte is not a man who needs to have a crowd to get up a for a fight and you get the feeling he would have been happy to do this in anyone's back yard, not just his promoter's, while Povetkin has been enjoying tear-ups for pay for the last 15 years and that isn't going to change this weekend.
Whyte has now been ranked number one by the WBC without a title shot for over 1000 days and, typical of his attitude, he is not sitting on his mandatory status with an easy fight; very much the opposite, in the biggest fight so far since Covid-19 brought the sport to a halt.
It is their similarities in style that suggest this will be highly entertaining while it lasts, as they both love to unload the heavy artillery and they won't need to go looking for each other. Built for power, they both go to the body well, have good inside games and are known for their tenacity, as well as their left hooks. Each man has left a trail of destruction with that 'money punch' and whoever lands their trademark blow first here could soon be having his hand raised.
The things they have in common don't stop there and both men have failed drugs tests on two occasions in the past, although Whyte was cleared of any wrongdoing after an adverse sample in his 12-round decision over Oscar Rivas last summer.
They also both lost to Anthony Joshua via TKO in the seventh round, but did so at very different stages of their careers and it is how they have performed since those stoppage defeats that sees Whyte as the 2/7 favourite and the visitor as big as 10/3.
Although Povetkin rebounded to outpoint Hughie Fury next time out, it was far from easy and he was then very lucky to escape with a draw against Michael Hunter on the Joshua-Andy Ruiz rematch undercard in December, when he was rocked to his boots on several occasions.
Whyte, on the other hand, was still relatively inexperienced, after a short amateur career and only 16 pro fights, when coming up against AJ and has improved markedly since. Eleven straight wins have followed and he has earned a reputation for taking on all-comers in the process, with victories over the likes of former champion Joseph Parker and the avoided Rivas, as well as a brutal stoppage of Lucas Browne and also overcoming domestic rival Dereck Chisora in a pair of fight of the year contenders.
Whyte also disappointed on that Saudi Arabia show as he laboured to a decision over Mariusz Wach, but he was clearly out of shape and claimed not to be in a good place mentally, with the potential drugs issue hanging over him for four months prior to that hastily-arranged outing.
He has spent the whole of lockdown training in Portugal and looked in excellent condition when he arrived back in England on Tuesday. One notable absentee in the Algarve was Mark Tibbs, his trainer for the last four years, and the man credited for much of the improvement in the 32-year-old. Such a high-profile breakup has to be a concern and it is hard to say how it will affect the 'Body Snatcher', but new coach Xavier Miller has brought in Dave Coldwell for fight week and that adds some valuable experience to the corner.
Povetkin has only lost to the very best, with his other defeat coming to Wladimir Klitschko in 2013, and he looks overpriced on paper, but there are signs a long amateur and professional career is beginning to catch up with him and this could be a good time to catch the Russian, who is just 10 days shy of his 41st birthday.
Whyte holds the advantages in weight, size and reach here, and those factors could prove crucial. Just as he did against Rivas, who boasts similar dimensions to Povetkin, Whyte can use his longer levers to consistently land with the jab and control the distance, while also setting up his thudding overhand right behind it. If he can deter the advances of the older man, who isn't great on the back foot, then Whyte can begin to score heavily and another big victory would beckon.
Both men have gone the distance in four of their last six bouts, and Whyte picking up another decision at 13/8 is clearly a big player. However, there were clear signs that Father Time was catching up with Povetkin in the desert and he could be ripe for a stoppage (7/5) if the Brixton man brings his 'A' game.
Despite stepping up from cruiserweight and not being noted as a puncher, Hunter hurt Povetkin plenty of times and he looked ready to go at times, so the heavier-handed Whyte certainly looks capable of matching Joshua and halting the former Olympic gold medallist.
He also fought in spurts and seemed to be struggling with the pace at times, suggesting his once solid engine possibly has too many miles on the clock now.
AJ did it in the second half of the fight and that rates the value play here at 3/1, with Whyte breaking down the tough underdog and forcing the referee to intervene between rounds 7 and 12.
There is also no love lost between Katie Taylor and Delfine Persoon, and they get to settle an old score in a highly-anticipated chief support.
The pair served up a classic in their lightweight unification bout in New York last June, with the momentum swinging back and forth during 10 rounds of relentless action, and there was a fair share of outrage among the fans when Ireland's golden girl was awarded a majority decision by the judges. Many thought the strength and rugged aggression of Persoon deserved to prevail over the speed and skills of Taylor, who obliged her Belgian opponent in a firefight and surrendered many of her advantages in doing so.
Is Persoon all wrong for Taylor or has the 34-year-old from Bray learned from her mistakes? There were certainly signs that the latter could be true as she stepped up a weight to outpoint the previously unbeaten Christina Linardatou in November, when focusing much more on her boxing rather than brawling, and similar tactics are expected in this rematch. Taylor has the much faster hands and feet, so is more than capable of getting off her rapid flurries and gliding out of harm's way if sticking to the tactics.
However, Persoon won't stop ploughing forward and has the experience of 46 professional bouts (only two defeats) to call upon, something which was evident as she employed plenty of roughhouse tactics the last time they met. She has also won her only paid outing since, but worryingly lost an Olympic qualifier in March, and the 35-year-old may just be slowing down a little.
The lack of a crowd can favour Taylor, who was possibly guilty of reacting to the electric atmosphere in Madison Square Garden last summer and trying to please the fans, and keeping to her stick-and-move tactics may be easier without that vociferous support. Logic suggests the favourite won't make the same mistake twice and can box her way to another points success, only this time much clearer.
And even if we see a repeat, it is likely to be very close and it's hard to see Taylor not getting the nod again on her promoter's show. Unfortunately, there is little juice in the 4/7 about a Taylor decision, and I would only be playing if something around the even-money mark was available for a unanimous verdict when the exact method of victory market is priced up.
Earlier in the night, the bookies see both the Luther Clay-Chris Kongo and Jack Cullen-Zak Chelli as real 50-50 bouts, and there could be some value to be found in the latter event.
It is 10/11 the pair with most firms here, but Cullen has the clear edge in experience and he received a big form boost when Felix Cash impressively dispatched of Jason Welborn in this same ring last week. Cullen gave the highly-touted Cash by far his toughest test to date when they engaged in a cracking tussle at middleweight late last year, with Cullen eventually being stopped in the eighth round but emerging with plenty of credit as he asked many questions of his man.
Chelli suffered his first loss in seven outings when dropping a unanimous decision to Kody Davies when last seen 11 months ago and that form took a knock when the latter was defeated by Umar Sadiq next time.
Both men like get on with things and they should be trading heavy leather from the get-go, so there is every chance this super middleweight 10-rounder will not see the final bell.
Cullen has the edge in power and should be better suited by this higher weight, given his 6'3" frame, so the 7/2 for him getting this done inside the distance looks too big to pass up.
Posted at 0820 BST on 21/08/20
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