British heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte thrashed former MMA fighter Lucas Browne in one of the most brutal knockouts of the year.
Dillian Whyte (23-1, 17 KOs) has an interesting background. Not only does he hold an amateur boxing win over Anthony Joshua (who would later KO him in the professional ranks), but he has experience as a kickboxer and a 1-0 record in MMA. Whyte is currently looking for his first major heavyweight boxing title shot, and he may have earned it with a savage finish at the O2 Arena in London, England on Saturday.
“The Body Snatcher” took on Lucas Browne (25-1, 22 KOs), an Australian contender who has a 6-2 record in MMA, with one of those losses coming in 2010 against none other than current UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Browne won a secondary version of the WBA title with a comeback KO of Ruslan Chagaev in 2016, but a failed drug test for clenbuterol saw him stripped, and he would fail another drug test just months later. Regardless, he wasn’t anyone’s idea of an elite fighter, but certainly not a tomato can.
After just one fight in 2017, Browne made his return against Whyte and couldn’t have looked any worse. Whyte was by no means a huge favorite, but he was leagues above the 38-year-old Australian, and a knockout seemed inevitable. In round 6, that KO did materialize, as after landing a combination of punches against a slow, defensively unsound Browne, Whyte uncorked a wicked left hand that instantly put Browne to sleep. Sky Sports in the United Kingdom would not show a replay, as Browne was down for several minutes and had to be administered oxygen in the ring. He was later transferred to hospital for reasons that are obvious.
Watch video of the knockout below, both through Sky Sports’ broadcast as well as HBO’s production, which includes the replay:
.@DillianWhyte knocks @lucasBrowne out cold with a devastating left hook in Round 6 to end the fight. #WhyteBrowne pic.twitter.com/MhAMTkKrS5
— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) March 24, 2018
Hopefully Browne is as okay as one can be after such a beating, culminating in that concussive blow. It’s the leading candidate for KO of the Year in boxing thus far.
Whyte called out WBC champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs), and also wants a rematch with Joshua. The boxing world wants to see Joshua vs. Wilder next, so Whyte may have to wait in line, but if Joshua loses to Joseph Parker next week, or we get the usual “let the fight marinate” line happen, maybe Whyte could get Wilder.