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Tony Bellew expects Tyson Fury 31-0-1 (22) to hit the deck in his WBC heavyweight title defence against Dillian Whyte 28-2 (19) at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday night.
The retired former WBC cruiserweight champion made the comments to iFL TV, saying: “I think it’ll be a bit of a shutout in the first couple of rounds. Tyson Fury, he won’t want to touch Dillian Whyte, and then I think at some stage, he’s going to have to stand there.
“When he does stand there, Tyson Fury is going to have to get up off the floor to defeat Dillian Whyte, in my opinion. Dillian Whyte will have Tyson Fury down. The big question is can he keep him there and I’m not sure he can.”
Bellew believes the 34-year-old Whyte will present a sterner challenge to Fury that Deontay Wilder 42-2-1 (41) did in their rematch in February 2020.
“Yes, because he knew what he was going in with,” Bellew said. “When you have history, you know what each other is getting into, so he knows. If you’re asking me is Dillian Whyte a more dangerous puncher than Deontay Wilder, absolutely not, no.
“But is it a more dangerous fight, yes, because [Whyte] brings a different set of tools to the table. He brings a different set of attributes, something that Tyson Fury hasn’t had to deal with in the professional ranks yet.”
Bellew’s comments come as Fury co-promoter Bob Arum revealed he will not be ringside for the fight.
“Excited to watch Tyson Fury defend his titles Saturday against Dillian Whyte in front of 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium,” the 90-year-old Top Rank boss posted to Twitter today.
“Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend as I am recovering from mild COVID-19 symptoms. I’ll be cheering on The Gypsy King from home as I watch on ESPN+ PPV.”
Meanwhile, Fury insists he is not overlooking Whyte or looking forward to retirement, despite stating in the lead up to the bout that he was looking at hanging up the gloves after the fight.
“I am only thinking about Dillian Whyte at this moment, I am not thinking about retirement. That will all come after I have had the fight and we will think about what is to come, what the future holds for me,” Fury said.
“At the minute I have a massive task in Dillian. A lot of people are underestimating Dillian Whyte – but not me. I give the guy all the respect he deserves throughout the training camp, I have been training since January, breaking all records in the gym, so I am feeling good, looking good.
“I am not underestimating this guy and have given him the respect I did for Deontay Wilder.”
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