In a compelling fight at the O2 in London on Saturday, Undefeated Colombian Oscar Rivas 26-0 (18 Ko’s) takes on one of the divisions most undervalued contenders in Dillian Whyte 25-1 (18 Ko’s) with the WBC Interim title up for grabs.. Rivas looks the part, he is a quietly spoken, moody, muscular specimen with credentials to match, but the underlying fact is that he boxed in the Olympic class of 2008 and it has taken him 11 years to land so much as a final eliminator.. For example Tyrell Biggs an 84 Olympian, boxed for the world heavyweight championship within 3 years of turning pro, Anthony Joshua a 2012 olympian fought for his first title around the 4 year mark.. Rivas has been smouldering for 11 years against largely overmatched opposition.. Whyte is the opposite, he cries out for danger, and since losing the biggest fight of his career in a Dice roll with AJ, he has built on each outing and improved in every aspect of his conditioning and development.. The fact that he has boxed back to back against Joseph Parker, Lucas Browne and Dereck Chisora shows us his mental makeup.. Whyte couldtake the Fres Oquendo Route, sit on a mandatory position, and remain inactive for 48 months to avoid banana skins until Manuel Charr honours him.. But no, Whyte relishes the challenge of meeting a potential banana skin in Rivas, literally going all in on his career.. Rivas showed terrible lack of concentration against Bryant Jennings, losing interest when the chips were down, before digging out a rather desperate stoppage at the 11th hour.. Rivas can’t adopt the same approach against Whyte, Dillian is hungry and very durable.. Whyte also considers himself somewhat of an underdog in this pairing, mentally approaching the bout as if he has nothing to lose.. Rivas is strong and rugged, but I view the Jennings performance as a hint of how he reacts when he can’t get his own way in a fight, in which case, Saturday could turn out to be a tough one for the Colombian..
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