Heavyweight contender Dillian ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte 25-1 (18) needs to be prepared to face the Colombian Mike Tyson when he steps into the ring against undefeated Oscar Rivas 26-0 (18) at the O2 Arena in London this Saturday night.
The warning came from former cruiserweight champion and heavyweight contender David Haye.
Long-time WBC number one contender Whyte is on the verge of a world title shot but a loss to Rivas will mean all his hard work will be for naught.
Haye expects Whyte – who has won 10 fights in a row since his sole defeat to Anthony Joshua in 2015 – to have too much for Rivas but warned he will need to be on his game throughout the fight.
“Dillian Whyte has chosen probably one of the most dangerous fighters to fight,” Haye told Sky Sports.
“He’s not big, he’s like Mike Tyson, that’s the only thing I can liken him to. It’s a good thing Dillian Whyte is the goods.
“It’s a good thing Dillian Whyte has the experience at world level and he’s as good as he is. Maybe if he fought Rivas seven or eight fights ago, I don’t think he would have been good enough.
“But because of the experience. Because of the fighters he’s been fighting consistently, the fights with Chisora, the fights with Joseph Parker.
“He’s fought the very best, Anthony Joshua, he’s been in there with the best, he’s up here but this fight is a genuine 50-50 fight.”
Whyte, 31, defeated Lucas Browne, Joseph Parker and Dereck Chisora in 2018 to stake his claim for a shot at the world heavyweight championship.
On the undercard of Whyte vs Rivas rising prospect Dave Allen will clash with David Price while Chisora will lock horns with Artur Szpilka.
 needs to be prepared to face the Colombian Mike Tyson when he steps into the ring against undefeated Oscar Rivas 26-0 (18) at the O2 Arena in London this Saturday night.){kind=link}