Dillian Whyte's Long And Tough Journey Against Tyson Fury: Waited 1000 Days, Positive On Drugs And Lost By KO From Povetkin

Dillian Whyte (Instagram @dillianwhyte)

JAKARTA - The long-awaited WBC heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte will take place on Saturday 23 April. For Whyte, the journey to this fight has been long and difficult.

British boxer Whyte, 34, was first declared the WBC's number one challenger for the title in 2017. More than 1000 days later, he's in less than two weeks finally getting the opportunity he's been looking for for a long time.

At the time, in 2017, American fighter Deontay Wilder held the belt, but none of his 10 title defenses had come against Whyte.

In 2020, Fury finally took the crown, going on to defend it against Wilder.

Whyte finally earned mandatory challenger status when he beat Oscar Rivas in 2019. But that victory was mired in a drug controversy that saw Whyte nearly quit the sport.

An investigation into his positive test - for which his mandatory challenger status was suspended - ultimately cleared Whyte's name. However, five months of his career had been wasted and the opportunities passed.

"For those who believe in me, I will not forget you. For those who do not, I will not forgive you and I know who you are," tweeted Whyte at that time quoted from Marca, Wednesday, April 13.

The Jamaican-born boxer admits that the ordeal almost completely drove him away from boxing. However, he didn't, and was about to embark on a title fight he felt he owed him for a long time.

When he steps into the ring against Fury, Whyte will not lack motivation. After all, any setbacks along the way to that date will spur it on.

Whyte has reasons to prove. Not only to those who doubted him, but also to everyone because this fight has been going on for years and now it's up to him to show his reasons to the fans.