It helps that it involves a character like Tyson Fury who has transcended Boxing, although perhaps not to the level of Anthony Joshua.
Ultimately holding the green belt that is famous around the world rather than one to merely keep your trousers from dropping is why Tyson Fury is the premier World Champion in the Division, something that will hopefully become even clearer over the next twelve months if a Unification with the winner of the Joshua-Oleksandr Usyk rematch can be arranged.
We have heard Tyson Fury speak about this being his last fight and I would not be surprised if it is his last fight in Britain, but it feels like one more challenge would keep him going before he calls it a day and that is becoming the first four belt Undisputed Champion in Heavyweight history.
The undercard is, erm, underwhelming to say the least, but the main event should be a good one on Saturday.
Before that there is another card in Liverpool on Friday night that should have seen John Riel Casimero taking on home hope Paul Butler for the WBO Bantamweight Title. Over the last few days, Casimero has been replaced by compatriot Jonas Sultan, and this is now going to be a card headlined by with an Interim World Title on the line, although the winner could soon be promoted if the WBO chooses to strip Casimero having failed to fulfil obligations twice in a row.
I will have a few thoughts about the card in Liverpool and will then add my Picks for the Tyson Fury-Dillian Whyte to this thread.
Paul Butler v Jonas Sultan
The main event should have featured John Riel Casimero, but Jonas Sultan has been drafted in to take on Paul Butler for an Interim World Title.
Jonas Sultan actually holds a win over Casimero when they met in 2017 and a year later he was beaten in a World Title bid against Jerwin Ancajas- those fights means he cannot be underestimated and a victory over previously unbeaten Carlos Caraballo has put Sultan in this unexpected position to potentially become a full World Champion.
He put down Caraballo a number of times in that win, but showed vulnerability by beating put on the canvass himself later in the fight and I do think he can make this an entertaining fight.
Paul Butler is going to be well supported at home and some will feel this is a significant drop off compared with his originally scheduled opponent that will give him a chance. If Butler can box well and handle the power that Jonas Sultan brings, I do think he has an opportunity to win this fight, but I also feel the Filipino has been a progressive fighter and hits harder than his Knock Out record may suggest.
Both Zolani Tete and Emmanuel Rodriguez put Paul Butler down, although only the former was able to keep him there. The home fighter has won six in a row since losing to Rodriguez, but I do think he will have a hard time keeping Jonas Sultan from getting forward and landing some big shots.
Jonas Sultan feels like a fighter who will break down opponents with an accumulation of shots rather than one-shot power and I think he will be able to get inside and begin to rough up Paul Butler.
It also feels like Sultan has been operating at a much higher level than Paul Butler and being the progressive fighter suggests he will find a way to end this fight within the Twelve Rounds scheduled. Paul Butler is tough and he will want to put on a big performance for the home fans who have come out to support him, but I think he will struggle to keep Jonas Sultan off of him and it will lead to a stoppage, most likely at some point in the second half of this Interim World Title bout.
One of the main undercard fights on the night in Liverpool is having home favourite James Dickens back for the first time since he lost his World Title bid against Kid Galahad.
That was a pretty bad beating taken by Jezza who eventually had to be pulled out of the fight in the Eleventh Round, but he has had nine months to recover and being back at home on the comeback trail has to be a positive.
It also helps that Dickens holds a win over Leigh Wood as recently as February 2020 and the huge improvement in Wood's career in that time has to be a motivating factor for the Liverpudlian.
We will learn plenty about James Dickens and what he has left in the tank in the weeks and months ahead, but I do think he can get the better of a rugged Spaniard in Andoni Gago.
Andoni Gago is a former European Champion so has to be respected, but I think Dickens will believe he has moved past that level. Even then, he will have to be switched on against an opponent who was pretty active in 2021, even if his fights went 1-1 and with a Technical Draw thrown in too.
My feeling is that James Dickens will be able to box well and just keep out of too many troublesome moments and is likely to take this on the cards. He won't want to take too many risks after the Kid Galahad fight and Jezza has never been the biggest puncher in the Division so it is difficult to imagine him stopping a fighter who has been beaten inside the distance just once in thirty-three professional fights.
Another undercard bout comes in the Light-Welterweight Division and the vacant IBO World Title is on the line- no one will get carried about this portion of the 'World Title', but Josh Taylor could soon be leaving the Division and that means the Belts are likely to be scattered.
Winning this fight would put unbeaten Sam Maxwell in a strong position to move into other World Title fights in the months ahead and I do think he will be able to do that.
A strong win over Akeem Ennis Brown will have given Sam Maxwell the edge over some of his domestic rivals to move up to this kind of level, although there are some big names both at home and around the world at the 140 pound limit.
For now Maxwell can only build on his performances and I do think he will get back to basics with a relatively early stoppage over Alejandro Meneses.
Any Mexican fighter has to be respected, but Alejandro Meneses arrives with an 18-5 record and he has been stopped three times before with all of those stoppages coming in the early Rounds.
Some fighters from that nation do start early and have some setbacks, but Meneses is fighting in Europe for the first time and looks like someone who may be tailor-made for Sam Maxwell to take the next step in his career.
It has been three years since the resident of Liverpool last earned a stoppage, but I don't think Sam Maxwell will have to look for Alejandro Meneses and can come through a firefight with a big win in front of his supporters.
Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte
We should have really had a Unification bout by now in the Heavyweight Division with all of the Belts being held by two boxers, but that will have to wait until Tyson Fury and Oleksander Usyk defend their Titles over the coming months.
First up is Tyson Fury who will return home having beaten Deontay Wilder over their trilogy.
The big man looks the best in the Division and being able to perform at Wembley Stadium is another one to tick off the bucket list. I am not convinced that this is Tyson Fury's last fight as he is suggesting himself, but it may be the last time he fights in the United Kingdom and I do think Fury will want to put on a strong display for the fans.
He has come in lighter than he did for the Wilder fights, but I think it is more an indication of a really strong, long camp he has had rather than Tyson Fury wanting to stick and move for much of the night. That has to be the early game plan against someone like Dillian Whyte who is going to come forward and look to land some very big punches early.
Dillian Whyte has put together a decent record since his loss to Anthony Joshua and he has been well prepared for a long overdue World Title shot. He has spoken well this week and has looked confidence, but Whyte has been someone that has lost some energy late into fights and that has seen him put down a number of times after the halfway mark of his big name bouts.
Alexander Povetkin caught him with a stunning punch relatively early, but the likes of Joshua, Jospeh Parker and Oscar Rivas have put Dillian Whyte down after the Sixth Round has been completed.
I don't think Dillian Whyte will be frustrated if Tyson Fury is moving early, but I think he will be forced to expend plenty of energy and around the halfway mark I expect the WBC Champion to begin to exert his control. Early on I expect Fury to be a little more cautious of walking into something silly, but after the halfway stage I expect Tyson Fury to have his timing down and begin to hit an increasingly easy target.
SugarHill Steward will remember how Uncle Manny used to want his Kronk fighters to be aggressive once they are in a position to do that and my feeling is that the gamplan will be to really sit down on the punches after the Fourth or Fifth Round.
Tyson Fury is a puncher that accumulates the wear and tear on an opponent and I think that will be the outcome of this one. While I expect plenty of movement in the first half, Tyson Fury may find he can begin to punish Dillian Whyte in the second half and I think he will eventually crack through the defences.
Dillian Whyte can come again, but I am expecting his first World Title shot to be ended by Tyson Fury in the Championship Rounds.
For a major event like this WBC World Heavyweight Title bout is, the undercard is underwhelming.
The main undercard bout features Tyson Fury's buddy Isaac Lowe taking on Nick Ball and it could be the fight of the night if the styles gel as imagined.
Isaac Lowe has been on a number of the Fury undercards, but even that won't have fully prepared him for fighting at Wembley Stadium. He is coming off a bad loss and now faces an unbeaten Boxer who has been plenty of quiet hype about him.
There is no doubt that is a huge step up for Nick Ball and more so than the one that Isaac Lowe will be facing, but Liverpool do believe they have a potential World Champion in the making. He hits hard and Nick Ball will bring it all night and I think that could see him come through for this vacant WBC Silver Belt, which would put the winner in a strong spot in the World Rankings.
While Nick Ball is improving and looking upwards, Isaac Lowe may be a fading force and Ball may have enough to earn the stoppage in a fight where neither is likely going to have to look too hard to find the other.
Ekow Essuman has stopped three of his last four opponents and the British Welterweight Champion has been given a big opportunity.
He was originally due to fight next week, but his bout has been brought forward to fill out the undercard at Wembley Stadium and I expect him to take full advantage of that. He is unbeaten and I think Essuman will be looking to make a statement to all those watching.
A fight against Darren Tetley looks a good one for Ekow Essuman to produce a quality finish for the fans to enjoy and I think he will be able to get this done inside the distance. I can see Ekow Essuman boxing into the bout, but he should have too much for Tetley at some point in the middle of the scheduled Twelve Rounds.
Darren Tetley was being Knocked Out at English level last year and is unlikely to be able to fend off Ekow Essuman once the latter gets going.
Unsurprisingly Tommy Fury is on the undercard as he inexplicably continues to call out Jake Paul- I get that it is the money fight for the younger Fury, but it just comes off desperate and he should really concentrate on improving his own career with Paul clearly not interested.
He is facing another opponent that shouldn't cause too much trouble. However, Tommy Fury will have to challenge the inner Golovkin his father believes he has and the best way will be to stop an opponent very quickly.
I think that is why Daniel Bocianski has been selected and Fury should be able to produce a very early night.
Another boxer looking to avoid having to spend too long in the ring this week will be David Adelaye who knows it is Knock Outs that will excite the fans watching on the most.
Like Tommy Fury, David Adelaye is up against an opponent he should be stopping relatively early and the biggest challenge may be facing a southpaw.
Chris Healey has been stopped in two of his eight defeats and I think David Adeylaye is likely going to walk through him after figuring out the stance he is facing.
Each of David Adelaye's last three fights have gone at least Four Rounds and I think he should be able to get this one done in either the Third or Fourth Round. Chris Healey's two stoppage defeats have come in the Third Round against Nick Webb and Fourth Round by Paul O'Hagan and I do think he may have durability to get through the opening couple of Rounds before David Adelaye closes the show.
MY PICKS: Jonas Sultan to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.20 Bet365 (2 Units)
James Dickens to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Sam Maxwell Win Between 1-6 @ 2.10 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Tyson Fury to Win Between 7-12 @ 2.87 Bet365 (2 Units)
Nick Ball to Win by KO/TKO @ 4.33 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Ekow Essuman to Win Between 5-8 @ 2.37 Bet365 (2 Units)
Tommy Fury to Win Between 1-3 @ 2.25 Sky Bet (2 Units)
David Adelaye to Win Between 3-4 @ 3.50 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Boxing Picks 2022: 5-5, + 8.44 Units (18 Units Staked, + 46.89% Yield)
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