Anthony Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) vs. Dillian Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs)
When: Saturday, August 12, 2023
Where: O2 Arena, London, England
TV: DAZN
Weight Class: Heavyweights:
Betting Odds: Anthony Joshua (-650), Dillian Whyte (+400)—Odds by Bovada
Fight Analysis:
Former champion Anthony Joshua continues his attempted climb back to the top as he takes on a familiar foe in countryman Dillian Whyte. Two losses to Oleksandr Usyk have left Joshua in an unfamiliar spot of rebuilding his brand. After a get-well win against Jermaine Franklin in April in this same arena, Joshua now puts his comeback into another gear against the dangerous Whyte. And while Whyte, two years older than Joshua at 35, has incurred a few setbacks since their first meeting, he has remained a dangerous and well-regarded contender this entire time. Who can get it done in this high-stakes rematch?
The urgency is high. When they first met in 2015, it was a high-stakes battle of unbeaten young heavyweights, but their respective careers had more margin for error. A loss here would be a setback where it’s iffy whether either man could recover. Their first fight was a memorable back-and-forth bout. Joshua was dominant but badly hurt en route to a 7th-round TKO win. Their first fight was, in many ways, a portal into the pros and cons of each man that still hold true to this day. In addition, time has revealed some new wrinkles, and as is often the case, it’s not to the benefit of the fighters.
Joshua has his drawbacks but has been a stalwart professional for the most part. He is always in impeccable shape. He might have suffered some strategic setbacks, but he is consistent and doesn’t undermine himself. To beat Joshua, you’re not going to get any help from him because he didn’t train well. Whyte, meanwhile, has suffered from massive lapses in the ring mentally, often showing up woefully out of shape. Even in fights where you’d be certain he’d put himself through the paces, he comes in super-heavy. This isn’t something that generally works itself out as a heavyweight gets into his mid-thirties.
For Joshua to be coming off back-to-back defeats with the one win since then is indeed troubling. Usyk, however, is a unique fighter whose style is not going to be similar to a lot of other heavyweights Joshua faces. Whyte is a more straightforward proposition and one that Joshua has already vanquished. We’ve also seen Joshua purport himself better in rematches or, at the very least, make certain tactical adjustments that put him in a better spot to get the win. After some haphazard moments against Whyte in their first fight, perhaps Joshua opts for a safer approach this time around. With the stakes so high and a loss likely to put the skids on what was a gold mine career not too long ago, I’d expect a high-alert approach from Joshua where he eschews entertainment for prudence.
