Dillian Whyte’s trainer gave his fighter advice on making a retirement decision after his knockout loss.
It was a hard night for Whyte in Saudi Arabia as the young prospect Moses Itauma produced a stunning first-round knockout of the British veteran, which left boxers and fans in awe of the star’s quality.
He has been linked with Oleksandr Usyk following the victory, but some fighters believe it is a step too far and he should be focusing on names such as Filip Hrgovic to potentially provide him with some much-needed rounds.
While he is now being pushed towards heavyweight stardom, ‘The Body Snatcher’ is staring at a crossroads in his career where he may need to consider retirement, according to a former champion.
Dillian Whyte’s trainer reveals his retirement advice he gave after the defeat to Moses Itauma
The team around the 37-year-old have been supporting him every step of the way, and his trainer, Buddy McGirt, spoke to his fighter following the loss about deciding on his future.
McGirt has been part of the Brixton boxer’s journey since 2022 and has cornered him for his last four fights.
A day after the pay-per-view event, the Hall of Famer revealed his advice to the fighter on IFL TV about making decisions on his boxing career after a heavy defeat.
“I said, “Look, you don’t owe an apology to nobody’. You don’t. It happens. It’s the sport that we in. Guys NASCAR crash their cars, blow their engines. Guys that play football, they get tackled, they get injured, s- – -happens,” he explained.
“I said, cut the phone off. Don’t speak to nobody about it. Because they (ask) what happened? You saw the fight. Why you keep asking what happened? So you don’t have to keep explaining yourself.
“Just cut your phone off. Go home and enjoy your family. In my opinion, he should go home because he’s at the crossroads in his career.”
The American knows what it is like to be a fighter and have to make the decision of stepping away from the sport when he did it himself in 1997.
While it is common for fighters to make rash decisions after a big loss, the New Yorker explained why it should not be the case.
McGirt said: “So that’s a decision you’ve got to make when you have time to think about it. Not just right after a loss, because as a fighter, you want to get right back.
“Then again, it could be in the voice inside you telling you don’t do it no more. So there’s a lot of s- – -going through your mind.”
‘He will…’ – former world champion believes Moses Itauma is not ready for Oleksandr Usyk
Focus, though, has shifted from Whyte’s career decision to the next fight for the victor, Itauma.
The Usyk fight has been floated by Turki Alalshkh as the contest he wants to make, and even Tyson Fury believes the 20-year-old has a chance of beating him right now.
Although this is incredibly unlikely, with the Ukrainian exploring one final fight and being linked with mandatory challenger Joseph Parker, it is difficult to see how the prospect can fit into the picture.
Now, former world champion and Manny Pacquiao opponent, Timothy Bradley Jr, has warned against the bout for the star in the making.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said: “Young gun isn’t ready for Usyk. He hasn’t done nothing to make me know.
“This dude hasn’t been past six rounds yet. That’s exactly what Usyk would do if he fights him. He would drown him.”
While he believes the prodigy to be ‘the real deal’, he was not impressed with the level of opponent in front of him, claiming his rival had a ‘puncher’s chance’ of winning the fight.
His best shot at a heavyweight title would be waiting for the WBO mandatory challenger Parker to be elevated, if Usyk decides to give up his belt.