LONDON (AP) — Alexander Povetkin inflicted a second career defeat on Dillian Whyte with a stunning fifth-round knockout on Saturday which left the British heavyweight's world title dream in tatters.
Whyte had dominated the opening four rounds and twice sent the 40-year-old Russian to the canvas. But Povetkin turned the fight on its head with a ferocious left uppercut that ended the fight in an instant.
“I went down twice but it was OK. It was not too much damage," Povetkin told Sky Sports. "I was watching his fights and I see that he was missing uppercuts from the left and from the right. All my training I trained for those shots and it was definitely one of the best punches of my career.”
Whyte, the WBC’s No. 1 contender for more than two years, knew he could not afford any mistakes behind closed doors at Matchroom HQ in Essex. The prize of meeting the winner of the trilogy fight between current champion Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder was on the line.
Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed there was a rematch clause which he will exercise before the end of the year.
Earlier Saturday, Katie Taylor of Ireland retained her lightweight world titles with a unanimous points decision over Belgium's Delfine Persoon.
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