Tyson Fury warned over Dillian Whyte’s ‘signature’ tactics

Cruiserweight prospect Viddal Riley has urged Fury to watch out for two signature shots from Whyte

Dylan Terry
Tuesday 19 April 2022 19:08 BST
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Fury is preparing to defend his WBC title against Whyte this Saturday night
Fury is preparing to defend his WBC title against Whyte this Saturday night (AFP via Getty Images)

Cruiserweight prospect Viddal Riley has warned Tyson Fury about Dillian Whyte’s two signature shots ahead of their heavyweight title fight this weekend.

Britons Fury and Whyte will face off in front of 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night in one of the biggest British fights of all time.

And Riley, who has sparred challenger Whyte in the lead-up to the bout, has identified the overhand right and left hook as the 34-year-old’s most effective weapons.

Speaking on The True Geordie Podcast, he said: "I sparred him, I think we did like four rounds. And when heavyweights spar with lighter people the speed puts them off. That's what I think and especially at that time when I was in amateur mode more than I am now, the first four rounds I was always going to do what I do, pick, pick, pick and make him look for me.

"I'm quite quick on my feet. I used to get happy about that sort of thing but they're pros and they play the game completely different. He's not thinking about punching you until round six really, and by round six or seven you would really see what would happen.

"We've done four rounds, he's got another sparring partner waiting on the outside and he's probably trying to chill because he knows the guy that's coming in for the next four is going to be fresh.

“Definitely for the four rounds I was thinking ‘I don’t want to get hit by you, I know you swing some overhand rights’, it’s his signature overhand right and his left hook is short, on point. So those were the two things I thought about and I kind of just kept it long range, moved around and picked my punches.”

Whyte has suffered two defeats in his professional career - against Anthony Joshua in 2015 and Alexander Povetkin in 2020.

Meanwhile, Fury is unbeaten as a pro, with the only blemish on his record coming in a draw against Deontay Wilder in December 2018.

Fury and Whyte are expected to walk to the ring around 10pm on Saturday night.

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