'I had to fight to survive' - Dillian Whyte was shot twice, stabbed three times, and became a dad at
Dillian Whyte is out to shock the world and end Tyson Fury's heavyweight reign this weekend.
Following his defeat to superstar Anthony Joshua in 2015, Whyte rebuilt his career and claimed a string of stunning wins.
'The Body Snatcher' was something of a journeyman in his early years but now, at 34, he gets his world title shot.
Whyte has had to bide his time to get to this point, and set up this fight after beating Alexander Povetkin via TKO in a rematch having initially lost to the Russian.
A win over Fury will complete a remarkable journey to the top for the Brit, as talkSPORT.com recaps...
Dillian Whyte: Background and early years
Whyte grew up in poverty in Jamaica and his mother left when he was just a toddler to take a job in London.
He only managed to eventually join her in Brixton with his brother Dean when he turned 12.
"Man when I was growing up in Jamaica we suffered, suffered, suffered," he recalled in 2018.
"Some days we couldn't eat, we'd go to bed hungry. She left me with people who didn't take very good care of me.
"They were taking the money my mum was sending and was telling me she wasn't sending anything."
When he eventually arrived in England, Whyte became embroiled in gang culture.
He was stabbed twice and opted to sew himself back together instead of heading to A&E.
Whyte was also shot in Clapham and painfully had to remove a bullet from his leg to avoid affecting his mother.
"I took the bullet out and hid out," Whyte reflected, in an interview with The Telegraph.
"It was out of respect for my mum. I didn’t ever want to bring police to her house.
"Doesn’t matter what I did or how bad I was, I showed respect for her. If I was ever injured, I couldn’t go to the hospital in case they alerted my mum, so I did what I had to do."
He became a father for the first time at 13, but ultimately it was a teary visit from his mother after he served time in prison in his late teens that forced him to change his ways.
"My older brother died and she was saying she didn't want to lose another son," Whyte said,
Once released, Whyte found Miguel’s - a boxing gym in Brixton.
"I've always been a fighter," Whyte conceded. "I've never had a choice. Growing up I had to fight to survive."
He added: “I got stabbed when I was 13, 16 and 15.
“That’s actually how I got into fighting. I got into trouble and my youth worker took me to the gym because he saw me always fighting and getting into trouble. Once I started doing it I just fell in love with it."
Whyte started out as a professional kickboxer, showing huge promise and becoming a two-time British heavyweight champion.
He then turned to mixed martial arts, competing in the Ultimate Challenge MMA, before embarking on a boxing career.
As an amateur, he came up against none other than Anthony Joshua - and won.
Whyte duly entered the pro ranks and made his debut at Gillingham’s Madway Park on May 13, 2011, where he claimed a points victory over Bulgaria’s Tayar Mehmed.
He fought a host of fighters from all over the world before his breakthrough win over Brian Minto.
He knocked out the American in the third round in September 2015 to win the WBC Silver International heavyweight title.
In his next bout, Whyte came face-to-face with his old amateur rival Joshua.
He pushed AJ for the first time in his career before losing in the seventh round to miss out on the vacant British heavyweight titles.
Following that, Whyte returned to winning ways with two victories over Derek Chisora and impressive displays against Robert Helenius, Lucas Browne and Joseph Parker.
In 2019, he then claimed back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Oscar Rivas and Mariusz Wach.
Whyte then suffered only his second career defeat to Povetkin in 2020, but he got his revenge last year .
Now, he faces Fury in the biggest fight of his career. A world title would complete the most remarkable of journeys.
Dillian Whyte Factfile
Age: 34
Born: Jamaica
Nickname: The Body Snatcher
Height: 6ft 4in (193cm)
Reach: 78in
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 19
Defeats: 2
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