It's time for the rivalry between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte to finally be settled, as they prepare to face off in the ring on August 12th 2023.
After hinting at a bout for some time now, Joshua and Dillian came to an agreement to settle the score at the O2 arena next month.
Whyte defeated Joshua on points way back in 2009 during their time in the amateur ranks. Since then, Joshua went on to win Olympic Gold an 2012 and ultimately become a two-time unified heavyweight champion, beating Whyte along the way with a second-round KO in their British Heavyweight title fight back in 2015.
Despite the success of Joshua since their first meeting, he suffered a tough hit to his career after back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022. The 33-year old bounced back to convincingly defeat Jermaine Franklin at The O2 earlier this year, and is clearly looking to take his career back to the top.
Regardless of any difference in career or status, Whyte is looking at this very simply...
I’m looking forward to returning to the London O2 on August 12 and going to war. It's 1-1 so this is the decider
Dillian Whyte
Could this be the start of Joshua's run back to the title? Or will Whyte come up with a surprise victory?
Well, let's see what the sportsbooks have to say...
Best Moneyline Odds
Anthony Joshua to Win: -500 (William Hill)
Dillian Whyte to Win: +450 (Coral)
Draw: +2500 (BoyleSports)
As you may have expected, Anthony Joshua is the heavy favourite in the matchup at -500, while Whyte is the underdog at +450. Here are a few reasons why AJ could take the win:
Anthony Joshua is currently ranked 3rd in the world in the heavyweight division by most rankings, while Whyte sits around 6th or 7th.
Joshua boasts a 24-3 professional record with 22 of those wins coming by way of knockout. While Whyte has a record of 29-3 with 19 wins by knockout.
At 198 cm, Joshua is the taller of the two by 5 cm, with Dillan Whyte being 193 cm. Besides being the taller fighter, Joshua also has a significant reach advantage of 10 cm over Whyte's 198 cm.
Almost every pundit and fan is calling for a Joshua victory, but we all know where the phrase "a puncher's chance" comes from... It only takes one punch to win the whole thing, and there's no reason to think Whyte can't land one of his famous left looks.
Best Odds for 'Going the Distance'
The following are the best odds for if we'll see a full 12-round bout, otherwise known as 'going the distance':
We all know both fighters are more than capable of finding a KO at some point in the fight, which explains why the odds favour the bet for not going the distance. But if you think the two heavyweights will battle it out for all 12 rounds, you'll get a better payout for your wager at +163 In the bet365 sportsbook.
Joshua has landed 22 knockout punches in his 27 fights, while Whyte has landed 19 in 32. If those stats are anything to go by, Joshua has a bigger chance of landing a KO. And if you expect AJ to win, he's only ever won 2 out of his 24 wins by decision. What's more - Joshua knocked out Whyte in their 2015 British Heavyweight title fight, so history tells us that if Joshua is going to take home the win, it's more likely to be by way of knockout.
Our Prediction: Joshua Round 8 Win (+1200)
Everything about this showdown points to an Anthony Joshua victory, while being fairly unlikely it will go the distance. Very few pundits are calling for Whyte to be shut down immediately, as they expect him to put up some sort of fight but is unlikely to knock out the former champion.
If you value boxing-legend Derek Chisora's opinion at all, he expects Joshua to win by stopping after struggling early on:
There are so many factors playing in this thing already. We’re five weeks away from the fight. AJ’s doing an eight-hour flight to Vegas. He’s gonna get there, jet-lagged, get tired, come back on an another eight-hour fight here when Dillian will be in London, training in Manchester. I think that in the first two-three rounds, Dillian will cause a bit of a commotion on AJ, but AJ will just bite his gum shield and round eight-nine Dillian gets knocked out.
Derek Chisora
Various factors will come into play for this bout, but at odds of +1200 at William Hill and the endorsement of Derek Chisora, an eight-round KO or TKO win for Joshua seems like a great bet.
Who do you think will win the fight? Could this be the start of Joshua's trip back to the title? Or will Whyte surprise us all?
Let us know your thoughts on Twitter & Instagram and be sure to follow for all the latest sports and betting news.
