Dillian Whyte v Ian Lewison, Friday October 7th, Vacant British heavyweight title.

Next Friday at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, an intriguing matchup plays out for the vacant British heavyweight crown, between two men who are no strangers to each other..  Dillian Whyte and Ian Lewison are both products of the mean streets of Brixton and even sparred when Whyte was a novice and Lewison was already establishing himself as a pro..  Ian 12/2/1 (8 Kos) had a glittering amateur career and even managed to stop the dangerous Cuban Olandier Solis, shortly before turning pro, Lewison has never really put his foot on the gas in the paid ranks, literally boxing a steady twice a year since his debut year of 2009..  in his 8th pro outing, Lewison stopped the rugged once promising Dorian Darch, thrusting his profile onto the scene and into the sights of the popular prizefighter tournament in 2013, where as a heavy underdog he upset the huge German Timo Hoffman before losing a highly controversial semi final against Derrick Rossy, despite leaving the New Yorker visibly marked up prior to his final bout..   Unfazed,  Lewison jumped straight back into action, knocking out the capable Tom Dallas in 2, before putting a 5 fight winning streak together, more recently knocking out the undefeated Zhi Yu Wu, in his own backyard in China, picking up the WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight crown..  Ian, trained by Don Charles understand that the Whyte fight is a little soon, but it's an opportunity they really couldn't refuse..
Dillian is a live one, 18/1 (14 Kos) and improving at an alarming rate, after a series of quick knockouts early in his career, Whyte started to look more closely at his future, travelling half way across the world to Austria and Detroit to broaden his ring knowledge, sparring some of the most accomplished heavyweights around.  Dillian however regarded himself behind schedule, due to a 2 year ring ban back in 2012 for failing a drug test, for the naive use of an undisclosed energy drink, this pushed Whytes return onto a fast track, he'd already boxed 6 times in 2012 and upon his return, 4 appearances in 2014 and 5 starts in 2015, culminating in the biggest fight of his career, against amateur arch rival Anthony Joshua for the British and Commonwealth titles..   Whyte boxed out of his skin on this night, extending Joshua further than any other opponent, bravely falling short a via tko in the 7th of a highly entertaining battle..   Whyte had actually boxed most of the fight with a badly torn shoulder which is testament to the Brixton mans toughness..  Dillian more recently looked a more patient fighter in his precise victory over the previously unbeaten Dave Allen in July, showing that he has more than just firepower in his armoury...  
Whyte knows that Lewison could be a handful if overlooked, and regardless of the tasteless insults understands how important the opportunity is..    Lewison has admitted that he has been flagrantly guilty of taking his career for granted, approaching fights with a less than diligent attitude, but although disclosing his current weight in the 280 pound range, Don Charles assures us that Ian has adopted an inspired attitude to his training, acknowledging the enormity of the challenge ahead of him..   Whyte and Lewison don't like each other, Whyte remembering a time when Ian was the big noise in Brixton, with an arrogant air..  "I knew there'd be a day I'd fight this guy, I just looked forward to the day I could smash his fat face in." Lewison not sharing the sentiment, "I never really looked at Whyte as a future opponent, I never saw him like that, but I know he won't be able to beat me, he's already chosen his method of public execution, and he knows it's coming."

This fight could be a classic..