Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte explains that he mentally recovered from his most recent defeat in very rapid fashion.

Back in August, Whyte was brutally knocked out in five rounds by Alexander Povetkin at Matchroom's Fight Camp in Brentwood.

At the time of their encounter, Whyte held the WBC's interim-title and he was the mandatory challenger to full champion Tyson Fury.

During the contest, Whyte scored two knockdowns in the fourth round and appeared to be on the verge of a knockout win - but then Povetkin unexpectedly landed a vicious uppercut that sent him down and out in the fifth.

The two punchers are scheduled to have a rematch on March 6th.

"I got over it straight away, it's heavyweight boxing. I'm a heavyweight, I knock a lot of people out. I hurt a lot of people in sparring and everyone I've fought has been hurt at some point or knocked down at some point. So I understand that one punch can change everything. It wasn't a massive shock, I was just disappointed because it shouldn't have happened," Whyte told The Daily Star.

"Obviously I wasn't happy with the way I fought. But listen, a lot of people sit at home and go, 'Oh my god this is a massive shock, it's this, it's that'. But it's two top guys in the world. It's not an amateur vs a professional.

"Also, I had seven amateur fights. Povetkin had 200 amateur fights. I never even won the ABAs and he was an Olympic gold medallist. Everyone was shocked but I was like relax man, this is heavyweight boxing. All the heavyweight champions before me have lost at some point. That's just the way it is."

Their rematch was initially scheduled to take place on November 21 - but it was pushed back when Povetkin tested positive for COVID-19.

A new date of January 30 was also derailed, when it was revealed that Povetkin required additional time to recover from the virus.

Whyte is still skeptical that Povetkin was actually sick.

He believes the Russian veteran wanted a few more months to recover from their initial encounter.

"There's been no proof and there's been no evidence [of the test]. We requested medical reports and everything. New Year's and Christmas is a big thing in Russia. I think he just wanted the time off to recover and spend time with his family. That's what I think," Whyte said.

"It's normal. He just had a new baby at the time, New Year's, Christmas and family time. It's a big thing in Russia and you don't want to be training and whatever. For me, I'm at war with the guy so I'm not gonna side with him and say I believe he was sick. If he was, then I'm wrong and I apologize."

Povetkin believes the two delays were more beneficial to Whyte, who obviously disagrees.

"He was more hurt than I was in the fight. He got knocked down twice and he got beat up. I got hit with one clean shot and that was it. I was alright, I was fine," Whyte said.