Dillian Whyte (29-3, 19 KO’s) narrowly won on home soil at the Wembley Arena in London on November 26 against Jermaine Franklin (21-1, 14 KO’s), edging out against the former undefeated American through a majority decision. While one judge scored the Heavyweight bout as a draw (115-115), the two other judges scored it 116-112 for the Brit.
The match seemed to fall in Jermaine Franklin’s early on who showed an acute mix of skill, toughness and ring IQ to take the early half of the fight. Franklin’s successful display seemed to be helped by Whyte’s unwillingness or incapability of letting his hands go, and the Brit only turned up in the latter half of the match when it looked like he was going to lose on the scorecards. Showing flashes of his old self, Whyte took most of the later rounds – including the championship rounds – and eventually was announced the winner of the fight.
Dillian Whyte’s majority decision win wasn’t accepted by everyone, including Jermaine Franklin who claimed he was robbed during his bout with Whyte.
“I feel like I honestly won the fight, seven or five (rounds).” Jermaine Franklin said in the post-fight presser. “I felt like I was holding him off doing good with the jab, making him miss a lot so… you know, to hear the decision it’s kinda crazy to me. But I’m open to a rematch if he (Whyte) will give it to me. I’m down to go to war with anybody. I’m not ducking no smoke, not ducking no opponent. I’mma go back to the lab and come back better than ever.”
Franklin seemed all too eager to entertain a rematch with Whyte, having mentioned his willingness to do so ]several times throughout his press conference.
“I really want this rematch. If he will give it to me I will take it, with no problems.” Franklin reiterated.
Dillian Whyte brushed off the notion that he lost the fight when questioned by a reporter in his post-match press conference. “Listen, these guys always say stuff man. It is what it is. He can say whatever he wants.”
Whyte also expressed slight confusion at Franklin’s apparent ‘bitterness’ at losing. “I don’t know, why would he be so bitter to say that (he won). But it is what it is. If that’s what he feels, that’s what he feels innit?”
Though the winner of this bout would supposedly face former unified Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KO’s), Eddie Hearn – the promoter of Joshua and Whyte – seemed to entertain a Joshua vs. Franklin fight, mentioning that Franklin “gave a good account of himself”. Whyte is still in the position to face Joshua, but it is unknown when a match between them might occur, if it will. Hearn seemed to entertain the fight happening in the first quarter of the next year, but also mentioned that the fight could happen in the summer of 2023.
In any case, with the match between Whyte and Franklin wrapped up, the latter will look to cement his position as a worthwhile contender, and after his match with Whyte new opportunities may show up for Jermaine Franklin. Whyte however, will have to contend with criticism regarding his form, his new style of boxing after taking on Buddy McGirth as his trainer and his future career as a Heavyweight contender. While he may fight Anthony Joshua in 2023, he can also look to rematch Jermaine Franklin if he ever seeks to silence the doubters.
The co-main event featured a Heavyweight match between British prospects Fabio Wardley (15-0, 14 KO’s) and Nathan Gorman (19-2, 13 KO’s) for the BBBofC’s British Heavyweight title. The bout proved to be one of the more exciting fights of the event, having been turned into a slugfest early on. Both fighters seemed to be evenly-matched and eager to push the tempo in the first round, but Gorman showed a good account of himself with his combination and boxing.
The second round was much more eventful, and through a combination of smart clinching and accurate shots, Gorman seemed to buzz Wardley and even managed to cut him on his forehead. Following the cut however, Wardley upped his efforts in the ring and unleashed an unstoppable set of combinations, eventually dropping Gorman in the latter half of the second round. With thirty seconds left on the clock, after a set of exchanges between the two where Wardley seemed to gain an edge, Wardley dropped Gorman for the second time of the round with a right hook after an onslaught of punches.
During the third round, Gorman seemed to regain some of the strength he had lost in his legs and the fight slowed down somewhat compared to the previous two rounds. In the latter half of the round, Fabio Wardley seemed to gain a spurt of energy and he knocked down Nathan Gorman for a third time with a right hand. Around the last forty seconds of the round, Gorman’s corner seemed to worry for their fighter and the towel was thrown in, culminating in Wardley winning his match by technical knockout in the third round.
Fabian Wardley, still undefeated, has captured the British title for the second time of his career, while Nathan Gorman needs to contend with his second defeat, coincidentally both of his losses against British prospects while fighting for the British Heavyweight title. His first loss came against current WBA (Regular) world champion Daniel Dubois (18-1, 17 KO’s) who also stopped Nathan Gorman in their contest.
Another interesting card featured up-and-coming British female Super Lightweight Sandy Ryan (5-1, 2 KO’s) who retained her WBC International title against Argentinian veteran Anahi Ester Sanchez (21-6, 13 KO’s) through a unanimous decision win.
Sandy Ryan had a rough start to her career after losing in just her fourth match to Erica Farias (27-6, 10 KO’s) by split-decision in March of 2022. The two rematched in August of the same year, and Ryan promptly showed her improvement to win the ten-round match by unanimous decision, winning the WBC International title in the process. Ryan’s win against Anahi Ester Sanchez proved to be the first successful defense of her title, of her career.
