After a devastating knockout loss to a young prospect, a former world champion has given his thoughts on a potential Dillian Whyte retirement.
‘The Body Snatcher’ faced the hard-hitting heavyweight future Moses Itauma but suffered a stunning first-round knockout finish.
Itauma, after a quick night’s work, still poses ‘unknowns’ for many ex-fighters who want to see the prodigy tested under the bright lights by a live heavyweight.
It seemed during the ring walk and a minute into the first round that Whyte would not be able to provide such a test.
Former world champion delivers his Dillian Whyte retirement verdict following the devastating Moses Itauma knockout loss
While the young star is being moved swiftly on into conversations with huge heavyweight names like Oleksandr Usyk, it has left Dillian with a difficult choice over his next move.
At 37 years old and being an active professional since 2011, a decision on his career in the sport is due after a hard scrap against Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua.
Now the former world cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson has weighed in during a video on Carl Froch’s YouTube channel.
Froch asked the Sheffield fighter whether it was time for Brixton’s own to call it a day.
He said: “I do. I saw Derek Chisora, another fighter that’s grown away. I thought Derek, you should have packed in years ago because now I know it’s about the money.
“But I’m on the other side. I’m thinking about your health after our sport’s gone, or when you’re an active fighter, you don’t see that until years later.
“You think, ‘God, I should have packed him in a bit earlier’. If Dillian Whyte is going to fight again, who does he fight? That’s the problem.”
The longest reigning cruiserweight champion himself had to retire in 2006 when injuries to his knee and back persisted.
It is now more likely than ever for boxers such as Whyte to stay around longer than necessary due to the money on offer from events spearheaded by Turki Alalshikh, but Nelson is concerned about who he would face if he carried on.
“He wants to fight somewhere where he gets that one last big payday. So, whoever’s going in against him, it’s that test,” he said.
“I hope he retires, but the choice is his. I don’t see fighters finishing like that. I didn’t like seeing AJ finish on his face. I didn’t like seeing that with Dillian.”
Tyson Fury backs Moses Itauma to ‘wreck’ Oleksandr Usyk and other top heavyweights
A man who is no stranger to retirements is Tyson Fury, who is currently on the sidelines but has claimed in a U-turn on his career that he would come back to face Usyk.
However, this is not confirmed, but he has given his thoughts on Moses following his win on Saturday night.
‘The Gypsy King’ Fury has sparred with Itauma in the past, during his camp for his fights with the Ukrainian.
On social media, he said: “I keep getting asked about young Moses Itauma fighting Oleksandr Usyk and fighting all the other big names.
“My opinion is not someone who doesn’t know boxing. My opinion is someone who has been there and won every single belt. Won everything there is to win in boxing and done very well. Boxing is a young man’s game, like I told Wladimir Klitschko when he was 37.
“Moses Itauma will wreck all those old men out of the division. Usyk, AJ, Miller. Whoever there is that’s old. Zhang, whoever else there is, Luis Ortiz. All these big names of the past.”
He reiterated his view in the video that the 20-year-old would ‘wreck’ the 38-year-old because of his youth.
‘The Wrecking Ball’ has been looking at a list of names, which includes Filip Hrgovic, Joseph Parker, and Jermaine Franklin, following his bout, but said it will be down to his team to decide the next opponent.