Dillian Whyte was reading nothing into the weight difference between him and Tyson Fury after the pair hit the scales before tomorrow night’s heavyweight showdown at Wembley Stadium.
WBC world champion Fury came in at 18st 8lb. Brixton’s Whyte, who it is often felt performs best at around 17-and-a-half stone, was 18st 1lb.
It could be that the South Londoner wants to be heavier against Fury, who has around five inches height advantage and a far superior reach advantage, to prevent being manhandled by the heavy favourite.
Asked about his weight, Whyte said: “Some fights are different, some fights you train differently. I am fighting a bigger guy, a much more heavy guy than me. I’ve fought at 115 [kg] before, it’s fine.
“Let’s wait and see, I’m not worried what he’s doing, I’m worried about what I’ve got to do. We’re ready and I feel fit.”
As the pair stood facing each other in the traditional pre-fight staredown, Fury shifted on to his toes to make the size differential even more apparent. Whyte responded by bending his knees and then swapped caps with his opponent.
The pair also danced to the music being played at the weigh-in at Wembley’s Boxpark.
“Don’t let this fool you,” said Whyte. “We’re ready to go to war.”
Fury has been affable in the public events since Whyte flew in from his Portugal training base on Tuesday.
“Deontay Wilder’s team were hostile towards us – Dillian Whyte and his team are all respectful to us,” said the Manchester-born belt-holder. “We have both made millions out of this and we can’t believe it [from their starts in the professional game].”
Asked what he did in the remaining hours before the bout, Fury joked: “Eat burgers and drink beer.”