MARK TIBBS has finally revealed the hilarious story behind the viral clip of him almost drowning Dillian Whyte with water in the corner.
Tibbs spent four years and 11 unbeaten fights with Whyte before their split in 2020.
The final bout the two had together was in Saudi Arabia against 6ft 7in Polish veteran Mariusz Wach – where Whyte laboured to a points win.
But perhaps the most memorable moment of the bout was Whyte’s reaction to Tibbs going overboard with the water in the corner.
The clip went viral and still remains a classic boxing meme to this day.
But Tibbs – who joined SunSport’s latest No Glove Lost episode ahead of Whyte’s fight against Moses Itauma – has explained what really happened.
The esteemed trainer had spotted an unwelcome character in their corner trying to have a conversation with Whyte in between rounds.
So Tibbs was instructing his assistant Xavier Miller to get rid of the mystery man distracting his boxer.
Preoccupied with doing so, he doused Whyte with a little too much water, sparking the iconic reaction.
Tibbs told us: “We had to focus and concentrate and I live it in that corner and we had no security in the corner, it was pretty early days in Saudi then.
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Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte - all the info
One of the biggest fights of the year has arrived
The highly-touted Moses Itauma faces the biggest test of his fledgling career as he steps into the ring with Dillian Whyte on Saturday night.
Itauma, 20, has great expectations on his shoulders – he has been compared to Mike Tyson and is expected by many to dominate boxing’s heavyweight division over the next decade.
But the Slovakian-born star – who sits at 12-0 (10KOs) is yet to face a test anywhere close to what Whyte can offer.
The Body Snatcher is now 37 and has not looked great in his last couple of fights, but the former world title challenger knows an upset win would catapult him right back to the top table.
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“There was a man standing there, for one or two rounds in between rounds trying to have a conversation with Dillian.
“So I went, f***ing – excuse my language – get rid of this geezer! What are you doing? Get hold of him, get rid of him.
“We had to focus. We had no security in the corner, not like over here. So that’s what happened.”
Whyte’s next bout would come almost a year later against Alexander Povetkin behind-closed-doors on the ground of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom HQ.
But Whyte spent the training camp out in Portugal – and Tibbs was unable to leave his family back home in London.
Whyte was knocked out by Povetkin but won the rematch before losing his WBC title challenge to Tyson Fury in 2022.
After beating Jermaine Franklin in his comeback bout, he was then due to rematch Anthony Joshua in August 2023, eight years after losing to AJ by KO.
But the fight was scrapped after Whyte returned an “adverse finding” in his pre-fight drug testing.
The result was later put down to “contamination” with Whyte continuing his career in 2024 with low-key wins in Ireland and Gibraltar.
Now, he returns against red-hot 20-year-old prospect Itauma in the sizzling Saudi heat on Saturday – live on DAZN PPV.
Despite their split, Tibbs hopes Whyte can roll back the clock and upset 12-0 Itauma.
Sat next to fellow guest panelists Derek Chisora – who has told SunSport his prediction for the figh t – and Anthony Yarde, Tibbs said: “Dillian’s a fighting man, he’s a proud man and he’s not phased by anything.
“He’s genuinely not phased because of the life he’s lead and the things he’s gone through, which has made him the man he is.
“He’s got lovely, lovely long arms and he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve because of the experience and the people he’s been around.”
Itauma vs Whyte, August 16: Watch only on DAZN. Buy now at DAZN.com
