ANTHONY JOSHUA has tipped Alexander Povetkin to beat Dillian Whyte, according to Eddie Hearn.
Whyte, 32, closes out the final week of Hearn’s ‘Fight Camp’ held in the back garden of Matchroom Sports HQ.
@AnthonyfJoshua doubts @DillianWhyte will earn world title fight, says @EddieHearn
AJ will be ringside for Dillian Whyte's fight against Alexander Povetkin, live on Sky Sports Box Office from 7pm!
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 22, 2020
A win for the Brit will guarantee him a shot at 31-year-old Tyson Fury’s WBC belt.
But AJ – who beat Povetkin in 2018 – is not confident old rival Whyte will get past the final hurdle standing in the way of his first world title shot.
Hearn told Sky Sports: “I don’t think AJ is the kind of guy to hope that Dillian Whyte will lose on Saturday.
“He actually, I think, believes that Alexander Povetkin will win on Saturday. I had a conversation with him the other day.
“This is a massive banana skin fight for Dillian Whyte.
“I don’t think Tyson Fury really feels too deeply about it, but of course in boxing, there’s so much bitterness.”
Joshua, 30, became the first man to knock out Povetkin, following a shaky start against against the 40-year-old.
And despite secretly leaning towards the Russian, the unified champion has publicly backed Whyte to prevail in the heavyweight headliner tonight.
Joshua said: “Everyone has issues in training, if he [Whyte] trained right, he will come through.
“He is a fighter, Dillian. But Povetkin is a seriously skilled heavyweight – an Olympic gold medallist, a world champion whose only losses were against [Wladimir] Klitschko and me.
“He’s good, a good fighter who hasn’t been on the losing end much so hasn’t got used to that feeling.
“He still has the hunger and will go in against Dillian thinking he can win.
“It will go to a points decision.”
