“He is dangerous!” Whyte weighs-in ahead of crunch clash with Óscar Rivas

Dillian Whyte exchanged anxious glances with Óscar Rivas for the final time ahead of their summer showdown this Saturday night at the O2 arena.

The pair weighed-in and came head to head, knowing they both have the chance to capture the WBC interim world title.

On Wednesday, it was confirmed by the president of the WBC, Mauricio Sulaiman, that the Whyte-Rivas clash would be for the interim belt and the winner will become mandatory to face the champion, Deontay Wilder.

Following a dramatic re-ignition of his career since defeat to Anthony Joshua in 2015, it has been fair to say Dillian Whyte has been left out in the cold in recent years. Despite possessing an impressive string of victims to his résumé including the likes of Joseph Parker, Dereck Chisora and Lucas Browne, the ‘Bodysnatcher’ has found a world title shot hard to come by.

The fight with Rivas represents one final hurdle for the Brixton man to overcome before he can think about locking horns with Wilder. Undeterred by the Colombian being somewhat of an unknown quantity in the UK, Whyte (25-1) has refused to underestimate the severity of task he has ahead of him this weekend:

“He looks good, he’s got the amateur experience, undefeated and has got a great team. The guy is in great shape, let’s see what happens Saturday.

I’m unconventional, I adapt to the situation. I don’t overlook no one, I train hard for everyone – why would I overlook someone now? This man is dangerous.”

Rivas (26-0), boasts a stand-out amateur win over Anthony Joshua’s foe, Andy Ruiz Jr. In the unpaid ranks, the 32-year-old quickly established a reputation of being a menacing and belligerent heavyweight who was capable of upsetting any fighter on his day. Displaying heavy hands, high work output and great conditioning, Rivas also beat Olympic Bronze medallist Michel López Núñez as well as Kubrat Pulev in the amateurs.

On Friday, the pair had to be separated after they stepped on the scales. The intense weigh-in was threatening to explode when both Whyte and Rivas came nose to nose and locked foreheads. With either fighter unmoved and refusing to concede ground, security had to pull the pair apart.

Whyte came in at 254lbs (18st 2lbs), his second highest career weight. It is seven and a half pounds heavier than he was in the rematch against Dereck Chisora. Meanwhile, Rivas weighed-in over a stone lighter than Whyte at 239.2lbs (17st 1lbs.) However, he has added five pounds more since his previous bout against Bryant Jennings in January.