Why Dillian Whyte vs Lucas Browne is a desperate scrap between two men fighting not to be forgotten

A couple of years ago Lucas Browne won a version of the world heavyweight title in Grozny, watched from a ringside throne by the highly volatile and always armed Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.

On that night Browne was trailing heavily on points before finding a punch to ruin Kadyrov’s boxing pet Ruslan Chagaev in round 10. Browne, a former bouncer from Sydney, can be a crude slugger and the heavyweight division loves a banger, but then Browne failed a routine drug test after the fight and was stripped of his title.

A year earlier, in an ornate hall opposite King’s Cross station, Dillian Whyte ended his forced exile from the ring with two stoppage wins on consecutive Friday nights, watched by a tiny coterie of devoted friends and a few hundred spectators. Each night was staggeringly low-key with all the boxers on the bill sharing the same crowded changing area and Whyte able to walk over and check on the poor men he battered.

Whyte was fighting for nothing on those nights at the Camden Centre, his career at that time was in great danger of falling into darkness and his spirits in danger of being crushed. He needed a quick fight or two to lose the ring rust and get a few wins under his expanding belt line.

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“That was a bad time for me,” said Whyte. “I had some offers, had some options but nothing was clear. I never stopped believing but it was not easy.”

Whyte had been suspended from the boxing business for two years after testing positive for an over-the-counter supplement, the infamous Jack3D. Both Whyte and Browne, who also claimed his failure was due a commercial product, have maintained their innocence.

This Saturday at the O2 Arena, in front of as many as 18,000 people, Browne and Whyte meet in a brawl that will hopefully leave the winner in a commanding position in the heavyweight lottery, which is a serious game that can transform a fighter’s life forever if he gets the right ticket. However, it is also likely to be a memorable slugfest between two men desperate not to be forgotten in a heavyweight business that has been transformed at the bank and in the ring.

Anthony Joshua has generated incredible numbers at his recent fights in Britain and there is bold talk of going to America where a lavish welcoming party in Las Vegas has been polishing the champagne glasses for about a year. Meanwhile, after a long, long lean period in America there is suddenly some heavyweight fever with the emergence and creation of Deontay Wilder, who holds one of the belts, is unbeaten and genuinely a threat.

The final days of Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe and Mike Tyson, three truly great American world heavyweight champions, were over 20 years ago and since that glorious epoch the lights have been slowly dimming on a prize once adored as the best in sport - it was also a prize the Americans considered their very own. The love is back for the big lads, the money is returning and boxing’s success is only ever measured by the amounts the fighters are paid.

A year after his ban was lifted Whyte met Joshua for the British heavyweight title; his career had survived the break and that night in a mean fight Joshua found a single punch to end it in seven. It had been a raw struggle, their rivalry fierce after Whyte had won their amateur fight and as professionals they had been separated in a gym.

Whyte, who was shot and stabbed on the streets of south London before finding boxing, wants a rematch and Joshua - too many people forget - has his own nasty history and will not back down from either insult or challenge. A Whyte win on Saturday keeps him in the Joshua business.

Browne has been hollering for justice since his portion of the heavyweight world title was taken from him. “I’ve had to be a patient man,” Browne said. “So many fights have fallen through, so many things have gone wrong - I want a bit of respect.” Browne remains unbeaten in 25 fights with 22 ending early and even at 38 he is one of heavyweight boxing’s hardest options. If Browne wins then he will be in the Joshua business.

Joshua must first beat unbeaten Joseph Parker next Saturday in Cardiff in a fight for three of the four belts to make sure he is still in his own business. A few weeks later Hughie Fury fights Sam Sexton for the British heavyweight title; Fury lost a close decision to Parker for the WBO world title last year.However, it is the circling presence of Tyson Fury, cousin of Hughie, having dropped about six-stone in weight and still, apparently, no closer to agreeing a return to the ring that offers the unknown sparkle to a thriving division.