Alexander Povetkin knocks Dillian Whyte out cold, Katie Taylor outpoints Delfine Persoon again

What a difference a minute makes.

Alexander Povetkin 36-2-1 (25) stunned the boxing world with a one-punch fifth-round knockout of WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte 27-2 (18) after being dropped twice in the previous round at Matchroom Fight Camp in Brentwood, Essex on Saturday night.

Whyte, 32, had everything on the line tonight against the 2004 Olympic gold medallist with a shot at WBC champion Tyson Fury mandated by February next year.

The Londoner started well against Povetkin, using his jab well to control the range and digging to the body with hard hooks to make the Russian veteran look all of his 40 years.

In the fourth round Whyte had Povetkin on the deck twice – the first time from a short left hook for a flash knockdown, the second time with a hook-cum-uppercut just before the bell.

Povetkin, marked up under both eyes, took his mandatory eight-count and walked calmly back to his corner.

But as the old saying goes, a hurt fighter is a dangerous fighter.

Whyte opened the fifth controlling the distance with his jab, but Povetkin wasn’t going to die wondering. He dipped to his left to slip a shot and came back up with a smashing left uppercut to the chin.

Whyte went down on his back, felled like an old oak tree.

Referee Mark Lyson waved off the fight at the 0:30 mark without bothering to count.

“I didn’t feel that I would finish the fight like this, but I was pretty confident in the fourth round,” Povetkin said.

“Yes, I went down twice, but it wasn’t too much damage… I was watching his fights and took into account that he missed the uppercut from the left and the right. So I trained for just those shots.”

Promoter Eddie Hearn said his fighter Whyte would invoke the contractual rematch clause against Povetkin.

“There is a rematch clause. The first thing Dillian said was, ‘get me that rematch, get me that rematch’,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

“It was a heavy knockdown so he will have to take his rest. Povetkin is mandatory now but he won’t be called yet.

“We will exercise that rematch clause and look to make that before the end of the year.

“Back-to-back defeats would be a different story but he [Whyte] will come back from this. I believe he can and will beat him in the rematch.”

Hearn added: “I can’t quite believe it. When the punch landed, I thought I was in a dream.

“I thought the fight was over pretty much. Whyte was brilliant in the previous round. I felt Whyte was winning and it was over.

“But this is the drama of the sport we love and heavyweight boxing. One punch completely changed the fight.

“Whyte was in control but it was great work from Povetkin. It is a shock but we know how good and dangerous he is.”

In the main support bout Ireland’s Katie Taylor 16-0 (6) retained her undisputed lightweight championship with a 10-round points decision over Delfine Persoon 44-3 (18) in a slugfest.

The fight was a rematch of their classic brawl at Madison Square Garden in New York in June last year.

Taylor, 34, got off to a good start with her cleaner, sharper punching, but the 35-year-old Persoon from Belgium increased the pressure round after round and had the 2012 Olympic gold medallist on the back foot for much of the fight.

When the dust settled the judges scored the fight 98-93, 96-94 and 96-94, all for Taylor in what was a closely contested bout.

“I knew it was going to be a tough, tough battle coming into this fight. It’s never going to be an easy battle against Delfine, she is relentless,” Taylor said.

“I knew I would have to dig deep at some stages during the fight, but I thought I boxed a lot better than last time. I stuck to my boxing a lot more, even if I got drawn in a few times.

“I stuck to my boxing and that’s what got me the win in the end… You can’t relax in there at all against someone like Delfine, she going to come and come and come.

“Even though I’m hitting her clean shots she’s going to attack all the time. That’s why it’s such a tough fight against someone like her.

“Congratulations to her for two amazing fights, what an amazing two fights to be part of.”

The doubleheader provided a fitting conclusion to the Matchroom Fight Camp series, colloquially known as Eddie Hearn’s House Party Vols. 1-4.