Dillian Whyte coach McGirt predicts ‘trench warfare’ against Moses Itauma

Whyte coach predicts ‘trench warfare’ when it comes to forthcoming fight in Riyadh.

Dillian Whyte takes on Moses Itauma in Riyadh on Saturday night (James Manning/PA) (PA Archive)

Dillian Whyte’s coach Buddy McGirt has said that his charge is ‘more motivated’ coming into the Moses Itauma fight this weekend, live and exclusive on DAZN.

Speaking to Boxing News on YouTube, McGirt said that Whyte’s attitude was ‘totally different’ than in his two most-recent fights against Ebenezer Tetteh and Christian Hammer. The famed coach said that this was because it was a much different situation to previous bouts, in that Whyte was against a young, athletic fighter with punching power. Being the underdog, said McGirt, was providing Whyte with more motivation.

Catch all the latest boxing action on DAZN

McGirt would go on to say that he was not surprised that Whyte, 31-3 (21), has been cast as the underdog in Saturday’s fight, given the hype and publicity that Itauma has generated.

McGirt also said that the reason that Whyte had taken the fight against Itauma, 12-0 (10), was because, at Whyte’s age, waiting for a fight against Joseph Parker or Derek Chisora was not conducive.

“He’s not in a position where he can wait, you know?” McGirt said. “He’s older. To keep going to training camps and then not have fights come through, it’s still wear-and-tear on your body. You know what I mean? You’re sparring, you’re getting ready.”

He added: “The training puts more wear and tear on your body than the fight. The fight is one night. The training is every day – five, six days a week for six, seven weeks. That’s a lot for the body to take, especially when you’re up there in age.”

McGirt also revealed that he had watched little of Itauma fight, citing the brevity of the younger boxer’s matches. Only two of Itauma’s fights have gone past two rounds, both of them six-round decisions early in his career. There was, McGirt said, little that he can learn at this stage as a coach about Itauma.

As to where the fight will go, McGirt said his aim was for Whyte to drag Itauma into a war.

He said: “We got to make it a dog fight. We have to make it a dog fight. You know what I mean? They got to make it a smart dog fight. That's the key. You can't go in and just go buck wild and get hit with some dumb ----. No, you got to be smart about it, but you got to get them in the trenches. But you got to be smart of how you get them in the trenches. That's the key.”

Watch the very best boxing with a DAZN subscription

DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month.

A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.

For pricing in your country, more information and to sign up click here.