British heavyweight Dillian Whyte returned to the ring after last fighting in November of 2022, and very much looked beset by ring rust and lack of activity as he coursed to a corner retirement/stoppage win over German vet Christian Hammer. The two headlined a fight card on Sunday, March 17th, with the TF Royal Hotel [based in Castlebar, Ireland] serving as the venue where the fight card took place with Saint Patrick’s holiday [that was held on the same day] serving as the theme for the event.
With only a year separated between the two heavyweights, both Dillian Whyte (30-3, 20 KO’s) and Christian Hammer (27-11, 17 KO’s) looked lethargic as they battled against each other as both fighters had not fought since 2022. Nonetheless, Whyte slugged out a corner retirement win over three rounds as Hammer or his corner opted to retire following the third of the bout.
The three rounds that occurred saw little action, but seemed to go in favor of Whyte who outlanded and outworked Hammer to the point his German opponent quit. While Whyte’s performance was far from impressive, the 35-year old did show glimpses of his old self but showed no real sign of being able to return to what his peak several years before.
Whyte’s victory over Hammer will be counted onto his professional record, but will be regarded as one of the most lackluster wins of his career with his victory more so attributed to his opponent’s inability or unwillingness to continue to complete the full ten rounds that had been scheduled for their match.
While Dillian Whyte might be itching to return against more recognized names in the heavyweight division, the former top 10-ranked fighter still has some work to do with tune-up fights before considering chasing a top-rated heavyweight for a significant payday.
Moreover, the suspicious circumstances surrounding Whyte’s ‘clearance’ of intentional doping might still affect the British heavyweight’s career going forward, with promotions possibly being more reluctant to book him for fights. However, given Dillian Whyte is considered a free agent, he does have the flexibility to move around and land himself an opportunity for top heavyweights looking for recognizable names.
The fight card also featured the return of Irish middleweight Gary O’Sullivan (31-6, 21 KO’s) who had not competed since challenging Erislandy Lara (29-3-3, 17 KO’s) for his WBA ‘regular’ title in May of 2022.
Having seemingly retired since his defeat to Lara, 39-year old O’Sullivan returned against unranked French contender Sofiane Khati (15-3, 5 KO’s). The eight-round match between the two middleweights proved to be a close contest but saw O’Sullivan lose on points as the presiding referee [and acting judge] ruled the bout 77-76 in Khati’s favor.
While O’Sullivan suffered a defeat in his return to the ring, the Irishman seems to have no intentions to quit boxing despite approaching the age of 40.
“I felt quite fit. I only had four weeks for him [Sofiane Khati]. I don’t want to make any excuses at all but I think I can improve on that,” Sullivan told Irish media outlet Irish Boxing. “I think I can do better than I done there tonight. so I don’t want to retire right now.“
