Tyson Fury will “have to get off the floor” in his fight against Dillian Whyte, Tony Bellew has said.
WBC heavyweight champion Fury defends the belt against his fellow Briton on 23 April, when the pair headline at a sold-out Wembley Stadium.
Undefeated Fury (31-0-1, 22 knockouts) is the favourite against Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs), but the challenger’s power can make life difficult for the “Gypsy King”, according to former cruiserweight champion Bellew.
“Tyson Fury’s the best heavyweight in the world right now, that cannot be disputed,” Bellew told talkSPORT, “but Dillian Whyte is a hard night for anybody.
“Anybody who thinks Dillian Whyte is going to be an easy fight is a fool. He’s big, he’s dangerous, he’s brave and he can punch. All those attributes will cause problems for anyone.
“And Tyson knows it, too, he’s no fool. But with Tyson’s boxing ability, if he navigates his way through the first six [rounds], I expect him to come on strong in the second half of the fight.”
Bellew said he expects Fury to face serious adversity, however, including needing to recover from one or more knockdowns – just as he did against Deontay Wilder.
Fury twice climbed off the canvas in his split draw with Wilder in December 2018, then did the same last October before stopping the American in the 11th round.
“Believe you me, I actually think he’s going to have to get off the floor,” Bellew said.
“Dillian Whyte is game as anything and he will jump all over Tyson Fury. He won’t care about the showboating, the dancing around, the drop of the hand.
“[Fury] also won’t get in Dillian’s head, Tyson can’t break Dillian’s mindset. Dillian is a tough, rough, hard kid.
“I think it’s a really, really good fight. I’m not saying Dillian’s going to knock Tyson Fury out, because that would be a stupid statement, but I will say this much: It wouldn’t surprise me if he did.
“It’s a really hard night’s work for Tyson Fury. He might not want to admit this, but he knows it.”
