Why there’s much more at stake for Dillian White than just this one fight

When Dillian Whyte steps into the ring tomorrow against Moses Itauma, live on DAZN, he does so with the knowledge that a loss at this level and at this stage of his career will remove him from title contention and shove him towards the role of gatekeeper.

These are the fighters for whom a world-title challenge is now out of the reach and the role within the industry is that of providing a litmus test for a potential contender looking to establish themselves as a threat amongst the higher levels. Win against a gatekeeper, and you may go on to challenge for a world title. But to lose is to know that such a challenge is beyond your grasp.

Of those professional fighters who set out to be champions, none of them relish the role of becoming gatekeepers. Even if many of them end up being more memorable than those who fight for championships, lose, and then fade away from the limelight.

At this stage of his career – multiple failed attempts at a world title – and reaching the age of 37, Whyte is facing closing time in the last-chance saloon. A win against Moses Itauma will revive a flagging career. But a loss will likely place him in the list below as one of the great gatekeepers of the heavyweight division.

Kevin Johnson, 36-22-2 (20)

He may have lost consistently in Germany in the waning years of his career, but the Asbury Park-born Johnson was once a serious contender for the heavyweight crown, losing on points to Vitali Klitschko in Berne, Switzerland, in 2009. Johnson was 22-0-1 (9) at the time, but lost a wide unanimous decision.

After that, he seemed to enjoy bobbing in the heavyweight waters, taking victories over not-quite contenders such as Alex Leapai and Albert Sosnowski. He eventually ended up fighting across the UK and Europe, losing widely to Tyson Fury, Christian Hammer, Derek Chisora, Mahmoud Charr, Kubrat Pulev, Andy Ruiz, and Daniel Dubois.

In that time, it is noticeable that only Anthony Joshua, in 2015, was the only opponent to stop him. Eventually, Johnson ended up plying his trade largely in Germany, where he upset an applecart by knocking out Yoan Pablo Hernandez, 29-1 (14), in seven rounds, before getting back to losing ways, dropping a decision to Agit Kabayel in 2021.

It remained pretty much all losses after that, with Johnson last fighting in 2023, losing a majority decision to Mark Petrovsky, 5-0 (4).

Smokin’ Bert Cooper, 38-25 (31)

Fans of the book The Years of the Locust by Jon Hotten will recall that Cooper was known by his manager Rick Parker as ‘$50 Bert’. The nickname came about from the fact that that was the maximum amount of money Parker could send Cooper each day without the Pennsylvania fighter going on a tear and drinking himself out of contention.

Cooper fought them all during the 1990s: Ray Mercer, Riddick Bowe, George Foreman, Orlin Norris, Carl Williams, Evander Holyfield, Michael Moorer, Mike Weaver, Corrie Sanders, Chris Byrd, Fres Oquendo, Joe Mesi, and Luis Ortiz.

The problem was that every single one of them beat him.

The closest Cooper ever came to real heavyweight glory was against Holyfield, whom Cooper stunned in their 1991 fight in Atlanta, Georgia.

The ‘smoke’ in his name seemed to come not from the ferocity of his fighting, but his tendency to quench any fires his skills and abilities frequently ignited

Rydell Booker, 27-9-1 (14)

Legal problems curtailed a lot of his career, but Rydell Booker was no joke as an amateur. A multiple champion in the unpaid side of the sport, the first part of his professional career ended with a unanimous decision loss to James Toney in 2004.

After fourteen years away from boxing, Booker returned with three wins but a loss to Jermaine Franklin seemed to set the course for losses. In the last five years, Booker has lost to Filip Hrgovic, Otto Wallin, Kubrat Pulev, and Viktor Faust. That last fight was in Berlin, where Booker often interrupted his fighting to talk and converse with people ringside.

Earnie Shavers, 76-14-1 (70)

He may have finished his days in Virginia, but the Alabama-born fighter spent a great part of his life working on the door of Yate’s Wine Lodge in Liverpool. The story behind his arrival there is strange enough for the world of boxing.

Shavers, famous for his bald head, was also once named the hardest puncher in heavyweight boxing. This was in the pre-Deontay Wilder days. The result of any match between the two could be decided on the flip of a coin, given both their propensities to suffer stoppages.

Like many of the others on this list, Shavers fought everyone but eventually became a litmus test for those coming through.

Amongst the people he shared a ring with were Muhammad Ali (whom Shavers knocked down), Larry Holmes twice (Shavers also knocked him down), Ken Norton (whom Shavers knocked out in one round), Joe Bugner (also knocked down), Ron Lyle (also knocked down), Jimmy Young (also knocked down), Jimmy Ellis (Shavers knocked him out in one round).

There was a definite pattern of Shavers knocking down his opponents. The good ones were able to get back up, outbox, and – in cases – stop him. The bad ones could not.

Shavers always said he wanted to face George Foreman, but the latter was wary of his power. He said the same, too, in his autobiography about Mike Tyson.