Eddie Hearn admits he is “extremely nervous” in these final few days leading up to the Alexander Povetkin-Dillian Whyte rematch.
Hearn hopes Whyte can avenge his devastating knockout defeat to Povetkin seven months ago. It is hard, however, to get the image of Whyte, sprawled out on the canvas, out of his head.
Whatever occurs Saturday night in Gibraltar, Whyte’s promoter commends him for embracing an immediate rematch with Povetkin. Multiple postponements of their rematch frustrated Whyte, who accused Povetkin of faking COVID-19, but Hearn thinks having more time in between their two fights will benefit both of these heavyweights.
“I think it’s gonna suit both of them,” Hearn told IFL TV in an interview posted to its YouTube channel Thursday. “I think it’ll be a better fight, actually, for taking place now. You can debate it, can’t you? You can talk about pros and cons, but it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be, which is incredibly violent and someone’s gonna get brutally knocked out. This ain’t gonna be a points victory or a stopped on your feet. This is gonna be a brutal knockout on Saturday night, and we hope it goes our way.”
The 41-year-old Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs) brutally knocked out a heavily favored Whyte (27-2, 18 KOs) on August 22 on the grounds of Matchroom Boxing’s headquarters in Brentwood, England. The former WBA champion was knocked down twice during the fourth round, but he recuperated enough between rounds to unload a lethal left uppercut that knocked Whyte unconscious early in the fifth round.
Povetkin’s pulverizing punch short-circuited Whyte and sent him crashing to the canvas. Referee Mark Lyson immediately waved an end to their scheduled 12-round fight for Whyte’s WBC interim championship.
Whyte, 32, quickly exercised his contractual right to an immediate rematch. Their second fight was scheduled for November 23, but Povetkin tested positive for COVID-19 early in November.
Their rematch was rescheduled for January 30 and shifted to March 6, before it finally was scheduled for Saturday night at Europa Point Sports Complex.
Sky Sports Box Office will broadcast Povetkin-Whyte II as the main event of a pay-per-view event in the United Kingdom (£19.95; 6 p.m. GMT). DAZN will stream Povetkin-Whyte II in approximately 200 countries, including the United States (2 p.m. ET; 11 a.m. PT).
“I’m extremely nervous, extremely nervous,” Hearn said, “and secretly, you know, although I know how nervous I’ll be on Saturday, I can’t wait. Because these are the nights you live for, where they do their ring walk and you just go, ‘F---! It’s on now. This is it. This is the moment.’ ”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
