DILLIAN WHYTE exacted brilliantly brutal and poetic revenge on Alexander Povetkin to get his world title charge back on track.
Seven months after he dropped the Russian twice in the fourth round but let him off the hook to be savagely KO’ed in the fifth, Whyte iced his rival in that same fourth round in Gibraltar.
It was everything the Brixton Body Snatcher said it would be and now he can prepare to pounce as soon as old rival Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury need a dance partner.
Whyte leaped and howled his way into the ring dressed in a beautiful new robe to honour Marvelous Marvin Hagler, the middleweight legend he admired who died earlier this month.
And the Body Snatcher’s shaved head and no-nonsense approach to fight week were straight out of Hagler’s playbook.
The 500 covid-free fans booed Povetkin into the ring, the 41-year-old veteran draped in the same old robe and shorts that look like they were doing the rounds in Hagler’s iconic 80’s pomp.
The Soviet slugger’s fashion makes no-frills look fancy but he proved in the ring last August that he’s still all about substance over style.
Incredibly, after a seven-month weight, Whyte almost won it with his first real punch. A right hook to Povetkin’s body wobbled him and a follow-up to his blond head had him staggering and baffled.
But the Brit refused to rush in and make the same mistake so the former world and Olympic champ recovered and reached the second.
A textbook one-two spanked Povetkin’s face early in the second but he swallowed when well and as the stanza ended both giant men lopped wild shots and missed.
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Whyte connected with a violent right hand in the third, that looked and sounded far more vicious than either of the two shots that dropped Povetkin back in Essex. But the rock-hard Soviet somehow brushed it off.
Povetkin’s superhuman chin was showing off again in the fourth when Whyte hit him with a cannon.
The Europa arena waited for the fleshy veteran to fall but he defied gravity spectacularly.
But another brilliant eight-hand blow battered him backward into the ropes, in almost cartoon fashion he bounced back out and right on to another piledriver.
Down Povetkin went, in came the white towel and the one-sided battering was thankfully halted.
Speaking after his win, Whyte roared: “I am just sad I didn’t get it finished in the first round but he is a tough guy.
“I will give it to Povetkin again if he wants it again, I would give him a rematch. I am still annoyed I lost that first one, I made a silly mistake and paid for it.
“I was on him in the first round but I knew I had to relax and not go hell for leather. I knew he was a former world and Olympic champion.
“I still believe I can be a world champion and beat anyone.
“That is probably the best right-hand knockout of my career.
“No one can take that punch from me and stand up, they will all go down.”
