Tyson Fury Vs. Dillian Whyte: Odds, Records, Prediction

Tyson Fury is one of boxing’s most prolific trash talkers. If he doesn’t like you (or he pretends he doesn’t like you) or doesn’t feel like you deserve respect, he will literally shout out about it from every rooftop he can find. But whether he’s actually thinking about retiring after Saturday night’s fight vs. Dillian Whyte or he actually has some respect for his opponent, Fury has been calmer than normal this week. Whether that means anything for his heavyweight championship fight remains to be seen. Either way, here’s everything you need to know about Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.

Fury is coming off two impressive knockouts of Deontay Wilder. While Whyte has more technical skills, he has less punching power than Wilder. So, maybe Fury doesn’t feel he has to be quite as cautious against Whyte, because the threat of a one-punch knockout doesn’t loom quite as large.

Still, Fury clearly knows Whyte is dangerous.

“Dillian Whyte is a good fighter,” Fury said. “He is a good, strong, solid man. He’s big. He’s strong. He’s tough. He’s game. He’s got good power. He’s knocked out a lot of men. He’s had a good learning career as well. He’s got a lot of experience in the fight game. He’s definitely a man that needs a lot of respect. And that’s why I’ve given all this training camp we’ve had. I’ve had everything I can possibly do to train for this. I’ve haven’t left any stones unturned. I’ve trained as hard for Dillian as I have for Wilder or Klitschko.”

Fury, though, also has been more wistful in the leadup to this fight. Perhaps it’s because he’s actually serious about possibly retiring.

“It’s been an amazing journey,” he said. “From where I started all those years ago to the ups and downs and being away from boxing and being fat as ****, 28 stone. To coming back and being mentally out, a druggie and an alcoholic—all of the rest of the stuff—I’m not ashamed of it. It’s a part of who I am. To coming back and getting back to the top of the world and having three big fights with Deontay Wilder over there in the U.S., and now being back in England after all these years, four years away, and now I’m fighting my old pal Dillian Whyte back at home for all the glory and all the belts. Who would have thought it?”

It’s true. Despite his mental and physical issues, Fury has been a heavyweight champion since he beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. Whyte, meanwhile, has never tasted that kind of glory. He’s been a top-five heavyweight for the past several years, but he’s never had the career-changing opportunity he’ll get vs. Fury.

“This is one of those fights where I’ve been working on being adaptable,” Whyte said. “I’m going to have to adapt, make smart decisions, when I need to do what and how I need to do it, and how I need to approach what I’m doing. So that’s it. There’s no strategy here. That’s it. I just need to go in there and do my thing.”

Here’s more info on the Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte showdown that U.S. viewers can watch for $69.99 on ESPN+ PPV beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte odds

While Fury is the solid betting favorite, more people seem to be wagering on Whyte. As of this writing, Fury is a -450 favorite (bet $450 to win $100), while Whyte is the +350 underdog. It’s the lowest odds I’ve seen for Whyte so far, so if you took him at +450 when the fight was first announced, you’re probably feeling pretty good about that. Fury, meanwhile, has been as wide as -700, so if you like Fury to defend his championship, now’s a decent time to bet on him.

If you want to get a little more specific, betting on Fury to win by KO/TKO is -125 and by decision at +240 (to me, it’s a 50-50 proposition for how Fury could win this fight, so perhaps the points decision is the slightly better value). If you like Whyte, I might take him to win by stoppage at +450 (or if you’re really brave, a Whyte decision victory would pay off at 22/1). I wouldn’t even mind getting even more granular than that with a Fury stoppage in rounds 7-12 at +187.

Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte records

Fury is undefeated at 31-0-1 (22 KOs), and he’d certainly like to retire undefeated (if he, in fact, does retire). Though Fury has one of the most unique set of skills of any heavyweight champion in boxing history, his resume still isn’t that fantastic. He squeaked by Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, and though he probably should have been awarded all three of his fights vs. Deontay Wilder, Fury went 2-0-1 with 2 KOs. His victories vs. Otto Wallin (in 2019) and Dereck Chisora (in 2014) look even better in retrospect. But is this a Hall of Fame resume? Maybe not.

Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) has had some nice victories and some tremendous letdowns. In the biggest fight of his life, he managed to hurt Anthony Joshua early in their 2015 matchup but then was knocked out in the seventh round. He also, a little surprisingly, got knocked out by Alexander Povetkin in 2020. But Whyte has good wins as well, stopping Povetkin in their rematch, outpointing former titlist Joseph Parker, and beating Chisora twice in fantastically exciting bouts.

Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte prediction

If this fight happened two years ago, I’d be inclined to pick Fury to win by decision. But considering how aggressive and powerful Fury was vs. Wilder and considering Whyte’s chin can be shaky, I think Fury will knock out Whyte. It’ll be difficult, though, and Whyte’s power might cause problems for Fury early. In the end, though, it’ll be Fury by stoppage in the eighth round.