Alexander Povetkin puts Dillian Whyte out cold in round 5 (Video)

Dillian Whyte was expected to march through veteran Alexander Povetkin and move on to bigger things. Instead, Povetkin KO’d Whyte and his career.

Interim WBC heavyweight titlist Dillian Whyte was supposed to impress against aged veteran Alexander Povetkin to set up a title bout with the winner of Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3.

That all changed with one punch from Povetkin.

Most suspected that Whyte vs. Povetkin would end in a knockout, but Whyte was expected to dispose of the 40-year-old Povetkin. Instead, Povetkin extended his career and extinguished Whyte’s.

Povetkin took the center of the ring in round 1 of their Aug. 22 matchup. He tried to attack Whyte but was wisely cautious. Whyte threw some jabs and landed a few. Povetkin was more active and won the round.

Povetkin and Whyte studied each other for an opening to start round 2. They traded jabs, but Whyte unleashed a sharp left hook to Povetkin’s body. Povetkin returned the favor with the same punch. It was a pretty even round, but Whyte’s work to the body gave him the edge.

Whyte and Povetkin traded attacks in round 3. Whyte scored early to the head, but Povetkin came back to the body. Whyte’s jab landed accurately, but he left his head open, and Povetkin’s jab went to work. Their gameplans mirrored each other, which made for another hard round to score.

Whyte landed two right hands 30 seconds into round 4 and dropped Povetkin with another. Povetkin returned to his feet and recovered well. He came back at Whyte with body punches.

Povetkin was boxing nicely but got lazy as Whyte connected with a left uppercut to Povetkin’s head with 20 seconds left in the round, which dropped Povetkin for a second time. Povetkin was hurt but got to his feet quickly. Only seconds remained, and he escaped disaster.

Alexander Povetkin was nearly stopped in round 4 by Dillian Whyte, but he reversed his fortune and changed the landscape of the heavyweight division.

Whyte stayed patient to start round 5. That proved to be a massive mistake.

Whyte must have felt confident that Povetkin was on his way out. He was in control of the fight, but he fell asleep, and that’s all it took to change the course of his career.

Less than 30 seconds into the round, Povetkin erupted with a giant left uppercut that caught Whyte on the jaw. Whyte was unconscious before his body crashed to the canvas.

Just like that, Povetkin knocked Whyte out cold.

Whyte eventually came to and made it to his feet, but it was a minute or two after Povetkin landed the shocking finishing blow.

Whyte’s chances of facing the winner of Fury vs. Wilder are over. It’s unclear if Whyte has a rematch clause with Povetkin, but this is a crucial setback for the 32-year-old Whyte.

Povetkin is back into title contention at a time when he’s supposed to be well past his prime.

During the post-fight interview, Povetkin described his mindset in round 4 when Whyte almost stopped him.

“I didn’t feel like I would finish the fight like this, but I was pretty confident in the 4th round,” said Povetkin through a translator. “Yeah, I go down twice, but it was okay. It wasn’t too much damage.”

It’s hard to tell what this means for Povetkin and Whyte. Does Povetkin get a crack at the WBC heavyweight title, or will he have another go at Whyte? Time will tell.