Dillian WhyteEx-trainer Mark Tibbs is delighted the heavyweight will get a ‘late’ world title this week and says the Brixton boxer knows how to beat Tyson’s Fury but admits that putting it into practice is another matter.
An all-British affair will take place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday where up to 94,000 spectators could be in attendance for the division’s biggest domestic fight since Lennox Lewis beat Frank Bruno in 1993.
Whyte has patiently waited for his chance to fight for the WBC belt, saying he was Deontay Wilder’s mandatory challenger as early as 2018 to see the former world champion take on Fury in what turned out to be a trilogy.
Now the 34-year-old will get his chance on the biggest stage but it was feared he could step down after he failed to show up at last month’s press conference.
However, the Jamaican-born fighter acknowledged the fight was due to take place for the first time on Wednesday with a social media post.
Tibbs, who worked with Whyte for four years, told the PA news agency: “I had a great trip with Dillian and really enjoyed it. We had a great time together.
“I’m happy for him that he finally got his world title. It was way too late and I was a little surprised it didn’t happen with the press conference, but I was relieved on Wednesday when i realized he was playing a game and now he was playing ball after this tweet.
“Knowing Dillian like me and knowing his strength of spirit and character, I truly believe he will be the best Dillian Whyte come April 23. He will be listening, he will be mentally focused and nothing will bother him. mentally nourish.
Tibbs first coached the ‘Body Snatcher’ after his 2015 loss to Anthony Joshua, which arguably sent the former amateur rivals down different paths, with the winner fulfilling his world title dreams.
Whyte (28-2, 19KOs) regrouped under the tutelage of his highly respected trainer to suffer a shock loss to Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
By this point, Tibbs had parted ways with the heavyweight, who avenged his surprise setback last March and now has Fury in his sights again with the pair sharing the story during long-debated training sessions at the start of their career.
“Dillian felt they would meet at some point and I always thought it would be a great fight for the fans,” Tibbs explained.
“He always thought about Fury, we always talked about Fury and he knows what he has to do against Fury, but he’s doing it now.
“He knows he has to get in close from the start, he can’t mess around and that’s where he could win the fight – get in close and try to get that left hook out.
“So he’s always up for a chance early on, but he’s the underdog and Tyson Fury is a superior boxer, there’s no doubt about it, but Dillian has a shot.”
Tibbs is expected to be at Wembley on Saturday as a pundit after helping one of his new signings become world champion three weeks ago.
Australian Ebanie Bridges, who made headlines in the UK when she missed out on the vacant WBA bantamweight title to Shannon Courtenay last year, worked with the Rainham-based trainer at her Origin Gym before beating Maria Cecilia Roman for the IBF crown in Leeds on March 26.
Tibbs, whose father Jimmy coached Nigel Benn and Bruno in his heyday, said: “Ebaine’s heart and passion for the sport drew me in. I felt like I could put it away.
“She is due to come back to Australia very soon, but I hope she comes back and works with me again because I feel we are doing well.
“Since she came back to the gym, since the world title fight, she’s actually improved. My dad came in the other day and said ‘she came, from the fight itself’ and I knew that she would.
Bridges is one of several prospects at Tibbs’s Origin Gym, with high hopes for heavyweight Johnny Fisher who received praise from Fury last year after joining the world heavyweight champion for the fight.
“Johnny is a good prospect and I think he will go very far. He learned a lot in the year he was pro,” Tibbs said.
“I like to take it one step at a time, so let’s win a few regional titles and then go for a British title. After a British title, the world will be Johnny’s oyster.
