DILLIAN ‘THE VILLAIN’ WHYTE has delivered a knockout punch to David Haye and Dereck Chisora by refusing to spar with both fighters.

The exciting London heavyweight prospect has sparred with them in the past, and when their summer grudge match was announced the rivals turned to unbeaten Whyte for help.
But Whyte (5-0) who meets fellow KO specialist Noureddine Meddoune (4-1) at Aintree Racecourse on Saturday refused.

Whyte, 24, explained: “They have both asked me to spar ahead of their clash, and that leaves me in a difficult situation.

“I have thought about it and I am not going to spar with either of them because they are both friends.

“David and Dereck have helped me in my career so I don’t want to spar with one and create bad feeling with the other.”

Whyte who beat British Olympic hope Anthony Joshua during a brief amateur career has also sparred with David Price and Tyson Fury.

Price (12-0) heads Saturday’s bumper bill when he meets Sam Sexton for the vacant British and Commonwealth heavyweight title.

Whyte added: “I am a tough guy and when I go to spar I bring it.  A lot of guys go to spar and lay down after a couple of rounds – that is not me.”

The chief support sees Ashley Theophane (31-4-1) defends his British light-welterweight crown against a selected opponent after Steve Williams pulled out on Monday.

In a third major title fight Liverpool rivals Paul Edwards (9-1) and Kevin Satchell square off for the vacant Commonwealth flyweight crown

In a special attraction classy Leeds boxer Adil Anwar (16-1) meets Dave Ryan (13-5) in a vacant English title and eliminator for Theophane’s crown.

Other fights include: John Donnelly (13-2) v Mike Robinson (5-4-3) (English super-flyweight title), Bob Ajisafe (9-2) v Travis Dickinson (12-0) English light-heavyweight crown.

Tickets are selling fast. The are some available priced at £95 (ringside), £75 (main floor) and £55 (floor) from www.frankmaloney.com/www.ticketmaster.com

IBF #12, WBO #11 rated heavyweight Konstantin Airich arrived in the United States yesterday to adjust to time and weather conditions for his IBF intercontinental championship bout against Odlanier Solis this Saturday (May 19th) at the Convention Center in Pharr (Texas).

Airich and his trainer, former German national coach Hans-Juergen Witte, flew from Germany to Miami where they conclude their preparation for the Solis fight with a couple of lighter training sessions before heading to McAllen International airport on Thursday.

Airich (23-5-2, 17 KOs) is the big underdog against 2004 Olympic gold medalist and multiple times world amateur champion Odlanier Solis (17-1, 12 KOs).

"I know that Solis is an excellent fighter", says Airich. "But I also know what I’m capable of. I have surely not come to the United States just to hand over my belt to him. I know that there is always a chance and I am willing to take it."

When working out in Miami Airich wore a t-shirt stating "Nothing is impossible" which might as well be his motto for this fight. "Anything can happen in a boxing ring", adds Airich. "Especially in the heavyweight division one single punch can decide a fight at any time. I consider Solis one of the best fighters in the world today but being the best fighter doesn’t help you when you lie flat on the ground."

The German "Sandman" himself is considered to be one of the hardest punchers in the world. He is a regular sparring partner for both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko and is coming off two impressive KO wins over Varol Vekiloglu and Ondrej Pala.

"Being the underdog makes things even easier for Konstantin", says his coach Witte. "Nobody expected him to beat Pala – but he did. Now nobody expects him to beat Solis. So he can enter this fight without any pressure. But one thing is for certain: Solis is a complete boxer. With all his amateur merits, his technical and tactical abilities we are surely not here to outbox him and win by decision. Konstantin knows what he has to do: We will go for the knockout."

For Solis the fight against Airich will be his comeback after a 14 months layoff due to the bad knee injury he suffered when challenging WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko for the world title in March 2011 in Cologne, Germany. The Miami based Cuban suffered a cruciate ligament rupture at the end of the first round in which Solis had landed more clean shots on Klitschko than the champion had to take in all his other fights combined since coming out of retirement in 2008.

"In this first two and a half minutes against Klitschko Solis proved that he is probably the only fighter out there who can actually beat both Klitschko brothers", states promoter Ahmet Oner. "Solis is an exceptional talent and as long as he stays healthy he will surely become world heavyweight champion. But as we all know styles make fights. And Airich is a hard puncher, has a great work ethic and strong willpower. He has worked very hard to get to where he is right now. This will clearly be no walk in the park for Solis. I am looking forward to an exciting fight."