Trimmed-down Whyte Weighs Lightest In 10 Years

Moses Itauma v Dillian Whyte

Venue: ANB Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Date: Saturday, 16 August

Coverage: Follow unrecorded matter commentary and perceive connected BBC 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds, BBC Sport website and app from 19:30 BST earlier switching to BBC Radio 5 Live from 22:00.

A trimmed-down Dillian Whyte looked successful terrific style - astatine his lightest weight successful 10 years - for Saturday's heavyweight bout pinch chap Briton Moses Itauma successful Saudi Arabia.

The 37-year-old Londoner tipped nan scales astatine 17st 6½lb (110.9kg), much than a chromatic lighter than his erstwhile bout.

"By nan grace of God, training has been bully and things person worked out," underdog Whyte said.

Itauma, 20, weighed successful a lb heavier astatine 17st 7½lb (111.35kg) astatine Friday's weigh-in successful Riyadh.

The southpaw from Chatham, Kent, has stopped 10 of his 12 master opponents and is simply a dense favourite to widen his unbeaten record.

There was a somewhat aggravated ambiance aft nan brace exchanged words during nan face-off astatine Thursday's news conference, wherever Itauma accused Whyte of "playing a sheep to drawback nan wolf".

"I'm a chilled feline until group messiness astir pinch me," Whyte reflected nan adjacent day.

"With me, I don't request to bully aliases spell crazy. I tin move conscionable for illustration that. So relax, bro, we're good. Me and him ain't sewage nary beef. It's business."

Asked what he saw erstwhile he looked into Whyte's eyes aft nan weigh-in, Itauma said: "A wounded animal."

Earlier, Liverpool's WBA featherweight world champion Nick Ball weighed precisely connected nan 9st (57.15kg) limit, pinch Australian challenger Sam Goodman a lb lighter.

Ball, 28, is Britain's only reigning antheral world champion and holds a grounds of 22 wins and 1 draw.

Whyte mislaid his only world title bid to Tyson Fury successful 2022 and has struggled for consistency successful caller years.

Whether he tin move backmost nan timepiece remains to beryllium seen. He weighed 18st 9lb (118.38kg) during a lacklustre triumph complete Ebenezer Tetteh past December.

But 8 months on, he appears successful nan champion style of caller years and wore a grim, superior look arsenic he took to nan stage.

He is astatine his lightest since his triumph complete Marcelo Nascimento successful 2015.

With 31 wins from 34 fights, Whyte insists he still harbours world title ambitions. A conclusion by Itauma would each but extremity those hopes.

Itauma has besides slimmed down for his toughest trial to date, weighing 9 pounds lighter than astatine his erstwhile conflict - a destructive second-round stoppage of Mike Balogun successful May.

A triumph connected Saturday would separator Itauma person to a world title shot. The Slovakia-born combatant is seen by galore arsenic nan early look of British heavyweight boxing.

"I conscionable want to get to nan easy bit, nan fight," Itauma said.

With Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua nearing nan twilight of their careers, Itauma has been tipped arsenic their imaginable successor connected nan world stage.