Dillian Whyte’s exhausting wait for a world title shot is finally here after years of frustration and setbacks

Dillian Whyte has had a long and painful wait for his first crack at world title gold.

The 34-year-old finally gets his opportunity when he attempts to dethrone WBC king Tyson Fury in front of 94,000 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and it will mark the biggest step in a career littered with highs and lows in almost equal measure.

Whyte’s battle began long before he stepped into the boxing ring. The future contender lived in poverty in Jamaica before becoming engulfed in gang violence after moving to south London aged 12, shot and stabbed twice as a teenager growing up in Brixton and Clapham.

After turning professional in 2011, ‘The Body Snatcher’ often played the villain, a role he embraced during his breakout rivalry with Anthony Joshua. Then still very much the golden boy of British boxing following his Olympics success and an electric start to his pro career, Joshua crossed paths with Whyte with the two coming face-to-face in the ring in December 2015.

Whyte, who was himself unbeaten in 16 fights, made his loathing for his domestic opponent abundantly clear with their rivalry dating back to a 2009 amateur bout that Whyte won. Joshua got his revenge with a seventh-round knockout.

He went onto fight for a world title in his next fight, that glorious night against Charles Martin in London, while it was back to the drawing board for Whyte.

Five victories on the bounce got him back on track however and in October 2017, his victory over Robert Helenius earned him the WBC ‘silver’ belt.

A month later he was officially confirmed as the governing body’s highest ranked contender for the world title then held by Deontay Wilder. Wilder had no interest in fighting the Londoner, however, bluntly telling him: ‘A king doesn’t chase a