Boxing News – July 25, 2019

ACTION

★★★★★ OUTSTANDING ★★★★ GOOD ★★★ FAIR ★★ DISAPPOINTING ★ RUBBISH

Reporters’ star ratings for main events and undercards are based on in-ring entertainment, competitiveness and whether overall expectation was met

Whyte beats

Rivas but is

no nearer real

world title shot

Ron

Lewis

RINGSIDE

12 lBOXING NEWSlJULY 25, 2019 http://www.boxingnewsonline.net

Photos: ACTION IMAGES/ANDREW COULDRIDGE

HEN Dillian Whyte

looks back on his

career, it will be

interesting to see

what prominence he

gives to the night he

beat Oscar Rivas at

the O2 Arena, London. It was the night he

was finally handed a WBC belt featuring

the words ‘World Champion’, but in

reality it was just one more step on his

gruelling journey through the sport.

Whyte had to get up from a ninth-

round knockdown before claiming a

unanimous points victory over Rivas,

a Colombian who now calls Montreal

home. It was Whyte’s 10th successive win

since he lost to Anthony Joshua for the

British heavyweight title in 2015. It earned

him the interim WBC title, a reward

as much for occupying top spot in the

WBC rankings for more than 600 days as

anything specific.

What Whyte really

wants is a shot at the

real WBC title, currently

the property of Deontay

Wilder. Eddie Hearn, the

promoter, said the WBC

had promised Whyte, the

31-year-olf from Brixton,

a shot by the end of next

May. He might have to

wait a bit longer than

that.

As the promoter of Joshua, Hearn has

found himself in a delicate position with

Whyte. They have stuck together without

a long-term promotional deal largely

through expediency. While Joshua’s defeat

to Andy Ruiz Jr last month dented the

earning power of a Joshua-Whyte fight,

it strengthened Whyte’s position. Last year

Hearn seemed to hold all the cards in the

heavyweight division. Now neither could

afford to see Whyte beaten like his most

famous rival.

Rivas was a serious test.

The 32-year-old, signed to

the promotional giant Top

Rank, was notably lighter

than Whyte, but had the

edge on speed. He came

with ambition too. Rivas

wanted what Whyte had

come to assume as his

right.

Rivas started well,

but it was Whyte who had the first big

success, stunning Rivas with a big right

and following it up with a string of heavy

shots. Rivas rode out the storm but Whyte

didn’t get greedy, establishing control

behind a thudding jab.

W

RIVAS HAD

THE EDGE ON

SPEED AND HE

CAME WITH

AMBITION

TOO

POWER:
Whyte makes good
use of his size
advantage

CLEAR AS MUD

★★★★ MAIN EVENT

★★★★ UNDERCARD

★★★★ ATMOSPHERE

GREENWICH

JULY 20

R e p o r t e r s ’ s t a r r a t i n g s f o r m a i n e v e n t s a n d u n d e r c a r d s a r e b a s e d o n i n - r i n g e n t e r t a i n m e n t , c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s a n d w h e t h e r o v e r a l l e x p e c t a t i o n w a s m e t