Christian Hammer vs Dillian Whyte Preview March 17th, 2024
Heavyweight hopeful Dillian Whyte of Jamaica is back in action for the first time in 16 months this Sunday, March 17th, when he takes on Christian Hammer of Romania. The 10-round bout takes place in Castlebar, Ireland and headlines a special St. Patrick’s Day card. Whyte last fought in November, 2022 when he got the nod in a controversial 12-round majority decision over Jermaine Franklin. He was supposed to have met Anthony Joshua in a rematch last August but failed a drug test, supposedly due to a contaminated sample. However it was the third time Whyte has failed a drug test during his career. Hammer has been out of action longer than Whyte as he last stepped in the ring in July, 2022 when he was stopped in the fourth round by Joe Joyce in a shot at the WBC Silver and the WBO International Heavyweight Titles.
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Hammer vs Whyte Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Christian Hammer +800
- Dillian Whyte – 1500
My Pick
The 36-year-old Hammer fights out of Germany and climbs through the ropes with a record of 27-10 with 16 Ko’s. He owns decent power in his fists as 63 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he’s got 211 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut back in in 2008. He had a pretty good amateur career representing Romania by winning a bronze medal at the 2007 European Championships and a gold medal at the 2006 Junior World Championships. Hammer stands just over 6-feet-2-inches tall with a 78-inch reach.
Hammer has faced some pretty good opposition over the years by taking on the likes of Joe Joyce, Tyson Fury and his cousin Hughie Fury as well as Frank Sanchez, Luis Ortiz, Alexander Povetkin, Tony Yoka, David Price, Kevin Johnson, Danny Williams, Michael Sprott, Sherman Williams, Michael Wallisch and Mariusz Wach. He’s lost seven of his last 27 fights fights though and has dropped six of his past 11. His first defeat since 2011 was to Tyson Fury in February, 2015 when the contest was halted at the end of the eighth round and he dropped a unanimous decision to Povetkin in Dec, 2017.
His other career losses came against Wach by sixth-round KO in 2010; Taras Bidenko by sixth-round majority decision in 2010; by first-round stoppage to Robert Gregor in his pro debut back in 2008; a 10-round unanimous decision to Ortiz in 2019 and to Yoka in 2020, a fifth round stoppage to Hughie Fury in October, 2021, a 10-round unanimous decision to Frank Sanchez in January, 2022 and his TKO loss to Joe Joyce in his last outing.
Since he’s been stopped in five of his 10 defeats and has been dropped several other times it’s reasonable to state that he owns a questionable chin. Still, Hammer’s a solid European-level boxer and former German and WBO Heavyweight European Champion with plenty of experience and could be somewhat underrated, but will need to be at his very best to beat Whyte.
The 35-year-old Whyte fights out of London, England and is also a former British and WBC International Heavyweight Champion and has won the WBO International and WBC Silver Heavyweight Crowns. He enters the ring at 29-3 with 19 Ko’s and has pretty good power in his fists with 65.5 per cent of his wins coming by stoppage. Whyte stands 6-feet-4-four inches tall with a 78-inch reach and has boxed 182 rounds since turning pro in 2011 after a short amateur career. He has a 1.5-inch edge in height o Hammer.
His biggest wins have been over Alexander Povetkin, Mariusz Wach, Oscar Rivas, Joseph Parker, Lucas Browne, Robert Helenius, Brian Minto and two victories over Dereck Chisora. Whyte’s first pro defeat came at the hands of Anthony Joshua via a seventh-round stoppage in December, 2015 before Joshua won his title belts by beating Wladimir Klitschko. Whyte also fought Joshua as an amateur in 2009 and dropped him along the way to a decision win.
He was then stopped by Povetkin in the fifth round in 2020 after he dropped the Russian twice in the fourth. Whyte’s a former kickboxer and mixed-martial artist with decent boxing skills but he usually relies on his power to carry him through. He’s got good size for a heavyweight but his chin can be questioned as he’s been stopped by Fury, Povetkin and Joshua and was decked by Parker and Rivas. Whyte’s also beaten the likes of Ian Lewison, David Allen and Marcelo Luiz Nascimento.
Prediction…
Whyte and Hammer will both have some ring rust and are in the twilight of their careers, but both also have the power to stop each other and if either of them doesn’t take his opponent seriously or comes in out of shape then he could pay for it. Hammer will need to land something right on the button to beat him or needs to outwork him all night long. I think Whyte will do enough to pull out a win here, possibly by stoppage, but he’ll need to work for it.
Whyte’s experience and power should do the trick.
Play: Whyte – 1500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Christian Hammer betting • Dillian Whyte betting