MMA Plus caught up with Jimi Manuwa during the week leading up to his latest victory over Polish standout Jan Blachowicz on April 11 in Krakow, Poland. As a training partner of undefeated heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte, Manuwa discussed the rivalry and potential match-up between his friend, and Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua.
The proposed contest of Whyte vs. Joshua goes far beyond two British prospects meeting in the ring. The duo met once before, in 2009, as a pair of unseasoned amateurs; Whyte knocked down the future Olympic champion and went on to score the victory in what was a wild and scrappy contest, but Whyte has since discussed a strong sense of resentment from Joshua, despite expressing support for his former foe.
Whyte, 27, opted to abandon his undefeated amateur run when complications effected his amateur standing due to a background in kickboxing. Since then, the South Londoner has a 14-0 professional record with 11 knockout stoppages.
In contrast, Joshua went on to claim the Super Heavyweight silver medal in the 2011 World Amateur Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, and dominated the 2012 London Olympic’s to snatch the gold. With tremendous media exposure, the 25-year-old turned pro the following year and has since mounted an 11-0 record boasting 11 knockout victories.
It goes without saying that both fighters have developed greatly since 2009. Joshua is now powerful, clinical and mature, while his counterpart has maintained some wild yet dangerous tendencies with fearsome capability and stern punching power.
Both fighters have been impressive in collecting their scalps, but the biggest contrast comes down to exposure. As the media darling, Joshua would of course open as a heavy favourite, mostly due to his in-ring dominance, but with a touch of hype as Britain’s next big thing (hype that is well earned, but the British mainstream sometimes likes to overstate things prematurely). There’s no reason to doubt Joshua’s ability, but his executions of less than impressive fighters has long since made its point; we get it, he’s a beast. Meanwhile, Whyte, with no bigtime promotion behind him, has been left with less prominent ventures thus far and would probably have more of an underdog status than he deserves. Furthermore, a two-year ban put Whyte’s development on hold and sadly damaged his reputation when his use of a simple over-the-counter product contained a banned supplement and resulted in a failed drug test.
Joshua has a pair of fights already lined up, including former world title challenger Kevin Johnson who is certainly a more credible test despite a three-fight losing streak against a string of notable contenders. However, Joshua vs. Whyte should happen soon after; a far more relevant showcase of mutually impressive, big hitting British heavyweights with a genuine rivalry to spark viewer interest.
