Whyte recently cited his limited amateur experience as he explained to Sky Sports on a media call the extent of his almost ‘learn on the job’ development and growth as a boxer in recent years, which he says continues with every fight.
His seventh-round stoppage defeat to Anthony Joshua in 2015 had not only introduced the world to his toughness but would prove something of a catalyst for his emergence as one of the most dangerous threats on the heavyweight circuit.
Since then he has claimed standout victories over the likes of Derek Chisora, Robert Helenius, Lucas Brown and Joseph Parker, before stopping Alexander Povetkin in the fourth round of last year’s rematch to finally pave his way to a title opportunity.
“I think some of it is we’ve just had to go back to basics,” Miller continued. “I think because I spent so long building fighters from scratch, there’s a format and that takes time.
“No matter how anybody wants to spin it, you don’t just get a fighter in who hasn’t fought for world titles yet and change things immediately.
“There are things that had to be worked on, we’ve taken our time and done that “Honestly the fight couldn’t come at a better time, it’s now.”
Rarely, if at all, has Fury played down the threat posed by Whyte ahead of Saturday’s showdown, acknowledging the likelihood of his opponent ‘taking his head off’ should he bring anything less than his best.
Fury hit the canvas on multiple occasions across his trilogy against Deontay Wilder, whose only fault was the inability to finish off the Gypsy King. Easier said than done.
“You don’t have to be a boxing coach to see (how Whyte can hurt Fury),” Miller explained. “If Dillian catches you clean you’re dropped. The problem is you’ve got to keep Tyson Fury there.
“You give credit where it’s due, when he has gone down he’s got up. He’s got a lot of heart, he wants to fight, but our job is once we’ve got him down to keep him down, that’s our job.”
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Miller himself, who has been working with Whyte since his win over Óscar Rivas in July 2019, admits he has been asked regularly of how much Saturday will mean to him.
The answer, for a trainer that has been instrumental in guiding amateur fighters to the pro ranks and travelled to America to expand his knowledge and spent time in multiple corners to hone his expertise, is a lot. For Whyte’s camp, they feel it is their moment, their man’s moment.
“I just love boxing. I’ve been in boxing since I was about 11/12 years old, I watch boxing every single day, I’ve been involved with training fighters for years and this is excitement for me,” he said
