Dillian White is determined not to blow his proposed shot at the world heavyweight title when he meets Alexander Povetkin on Saturday night.
The World Boxing Council has confirmed the winner of the trilogy fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder must next take on Brixton boxer Whyte.
The 32-year-old has been the WBC's number-one contender for over two years and feels he has more than earned his crack at glory.
🗣️ "If it's a 12 round war or 3 round destruction... I'll be ready and waiting!" – @DillianWhyte 🐺#FightCamp #WhytePovetkin #FightCamp4 pic.twitter.com/ri1Aeo4qHj — Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) August 19, 2020
"It's great news, and it's not like I don't deserve it. I earned it a million times over," Whyte told Matchroom Boxing.
But first he must overcome the dangerous Russian Povetkin, an Olympic gold medallist and two-time world title challenger.
The bout, originally scheduled for May until coronavirus broke out, takes place behind closed doors at the Fight Camp set up at Matchroom HQ in Essex.
Whyte spent the whole of lockdown in Portugal tuning up for the fight and said: "It's been a good camp, and I got a lot of training done. If I'd stayed here I wouldn't have been able to train. I'm ready to rock.
"I'm looking forward to boxing at Fight Camp as much as I look forward to fighting at the O2 or Manchester Arena.
"It's a big fight, we're ready to go. I'm a fighter – some of my hardest fights have been in the gym.
"Povetkin believes he can beat me, he will try and knock me out. If he does that then his career is completely revamped. I'm bringing straight maximum violence."
Povetkin may be 40 now but he is showing no signs of slowing down.
A seasoned opponent, his only two career losses from 40 fights came against Anthony Joshua – who will be ringside on Saturday night as part of Sky Sports' Box Office team – and Wladimir Klitschko
He said: "I didn't keep in mind that this is a last chance or something. The most important thing is my preparation and my boxing.
"The key factors depend on my training and my conditions, my motivation. I'm ready to box, whatever my age."
