An inside look at boxing’s first pay-per-view event since the coronavirus pandemic began, as Dillian Whyte prepares for Alexander Povetkin
Dillian Whyte is lounging in his own Winnebago in the grounds of Eddie Hearn’s ‘Fight Camp’ hotel, gazing towards a group of men outside, soaking up the sunshine with their morning coffees. One of them is Alexander Povetkin, his opponent in Saturday’s heavyweight world title fight.
A few yards away, Katie Taylor – perhaps the world’s finest female boxer – is strolling towards the workout gym, watched closely by the entourage of Delfine Persoon, her adversary on the same fight card.
It might feel strange, but in the post-Covid landscape of professional boxing, this increasingly feels like the new normal. The build-up to the first major pay-per-view event since Covid-19 is all taking place in half of a hotel, with fighters and staff numbering around 100, just off the M25 in Essex. It is then a three-minute shuttle bus to ‘Matchroom Square Garden’, a ring at the back of Matchroom Sport HQ, a 15-acre site in Brentwood.
It will likely be the only crowd-free pay-per-view event the 10 fighters involved will ever take part in, and the experience is far from straightforward. On arrival, everyone on site undergoes a Covid swab test of nose and throat before isolating in “the cell block” as some call it, for 12 to 14 hours awaiting the results. Masks are then mandatory inside the hotel.
Once cleared, though, the atmosphere lightens in a way that is unheard of in an ordinary fight week, with drinks on the terrace and impromptu games of cricket on the lawn between ex-boxers and staff (rain finally stopped play on Wednesday). There seems a genuine air of camaraderie, and a lack of testosterone-fuelled pre-fight hype.
Adjacent to the terrace is a media room packed with sets for different internet shows, one of which sees Hearn – ever the ringmaster – presenting an episode of ‘Bubble Trouble’, his own daily chat show on Matchroom Boxing’s media channels.
The conviviality is genuine, yet there is serious business to be done here, too – as Whyte knows only too well. The Briton looks in impeccable shape after 14 weeks in a training camp in Portugal. He arrived by private jet from Fuerteventura to Southend Airport, had his Covid-19 test, and went into isolation in the Winnebago (he has two of them, in fact).
Now he is reclining in one of the plush leather seats, like a man without a care in the world. Yet the truth is that this is the most significant weekend in boxing since the pandemic hit.
The outcome of his fight with Povetkin, the two-time world title challenger against Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua, has huge implications for the heavyweight division, involving Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Deontay Wilder.
If Whyte has nerves, or concerns, they are well hidden. He exudes calm, and insists he simply wants to fight.
“This doesn’t bother me. I’m a risk taker. I can’t sit around and not fight. Povetkin is a tough fight, but I believe I will win it” explains Whyte, the World Boxing Council interim heavyweight champion. “When I was a kid I had to take risks, I had to. I had to eat. I can’t get left to die. I took a lot of risks. Life does one of two things, it breaks you or makes you stronger. I realised early I have to take risks to stand out. I’m prepared to take the risk and I’m willing to live with the consequences of those risks.”
Hearn is also in no doubt as to Whyte’s heart. “Dillian wanted this fight, was prepared to take the risk of losing his place to fight the winner of Fury and Wilder” he says. “Like everyone else here, he is relieved and actually savouring being at an event again.”
That clearly also applies to Hearn, a man who lives for big occasions such as this. There have already been three events in Brentwood during lockdown – their staging has been vital to sustaining interest and finances in boxing – but none bigger than this one.
“There is a sense of ‘we are all in this together’ and people have responded as such” says Hearn. “We’ve had a little bit of argy-bargy, don’t get me wrong, these guys and girls are still fighters, but it has been a shared experience. But I am glad Dillian’s in his own home in the back garden. He’s so ready to go. You never know with him. And he looks in phenomenal shape.”
The man in question has just been working out, and big grin, body glistening, he is eager for the battle of Povetkin. “I just want to fight the best fighters in the world” Whyte says. “If Fury beats Wilder or Wilder beats Fury, they’re the best. I just want to fight to be honest. But I think Fury is going to win again.”
Then there is the Joshua rematch. “Oh, that means everything to me. It would mean the world to me. That’s a fight I want. I’ve got things to focus on now, though. I’ve got Povetkin to focus on and the WBC mandatory to focus on. Hopefully Tyson Fury will fight me and not vacate. Then we’ll really see.”