Dillian Whyte vs Jermaine Franklin LIVE: Stream, latest updates and fight result tonight
Relive round-by-round updates as British heavyweight Whyte defeated American Franklin at Wembley Arena in London
Dillian Whyte was a majority-decision winner against Jermaine Franklin in a heavyweight main event at London’s Wembley Arena on Saturday tonight.
In April, just a matter of metres away from this evening’s venue, Whyte suffered a heartbreaking knockout loss to Tyson Fury at Wembley Stadium, failing to dethrone the WBC champion in front of 94,000 fans. Here, Whyte, 34, looked to bounce back, as the Briton took on unbeaten American Franklin.
By the end of the evening, Franklin was no longer undefeated, but a weary Whyte had also failed to bounce back with the spring that he would have hoped for. Whyte was declared a 116-112 winner on two of the judges’ scorecards, while the other read 115-115. The Briton found early success with vicious hooks to the body of Franklin, but the 29-year-old did well to fire back each time Whyte seemed to be building momentum.
It made for a dramatic conclusion to the fight, with the winner apparently up in the air. Whyte landed a huge left hook to send Franklin tumbling onto the ropes in the final seconds of the last round, but still Franklin retaliated with focused shots. Ultimately, however, the American suffered a first professional defeat as Whyte’s hand was raised, setting up a potential rematch with Anthony Joshua, who was sat ringside.
Relive Whyte vs Franklin fight updates with our blog below.
Whyte vs Franklin LIVE
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“Maybe it was the urge to banish the ghost of Wembley, maybe it was the lure of another shot at Anthony Joshua and at redemption, or maybe it is just the way Dillian Whyte was designed. Maybe it just doesn’t matter. Somehow, some way, he found a path past Jermaine Franklin, even if the British heavyweight at times stumbled and sighed down that that road on Saturday night.
“In April, Tyson Fury took Whyte’s dream of becoming world champion, crumpled it up, and tossed it out of Wembley Stadium. Perhaps it clipped the famous arch on the way up, before it cascaded to the entrance of Wembley Arena, where Whyte was tasked with saving that dream on Saturday evening.
“And it is still in tact, straightened out but wrinkled; worse for wear but in Whyte’s hands once more.”
Full main-event report here:
Weary Dillian Whyte edges brawl with Jermaine Franklin as Anthony Joshua watches on
The British heavyweight was a majority-decision winner at Wembley Arena, handing his American opponent a first professional defeat
Whyte vs Franklin LIVE
Eddie Hearn says Joshua’s next fight date will be revealed next week, and that Whyte could be the opponent, or Joshua could fight in March then face Whyte in the summer.
Whyte vs Franklin LIVE
Franklin: “I felt like I got robbed on the decision, I felt like a did enough.
“I’m down for a rematch if they’ll give it to me. I proved a lot of people wrong, I prove people wrong every day, that’s what we do.”
Whyte vs Franklin LIVE
Cheers for Franklin as he prepares to speak.
Whyte vs Franklin LIVE
Whyte says he’s open to “whatever” next, as Anthony Joshua takes photos with fans at ringside.
Whyte vs Franklin LIVE
Whyte: “An undefeated heavyweight’s the hardest thing to beat on this planet. His stock rose tonight.
“I could’ve probably been a bit more active and let off a few more big shots.”
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