It is now a decade since Dillian Whyte first sparred then-world heavyweight title contender Mike Perez.

It was often a painful exercise for Whyte, 27 at the time and still in the early stages of his professional career, but one worth it for the $500 awaiting him at the end of every session. Ten years is an extremely long time in boxing and it is now Whyte who has invited his old friend to help him prepare for a fight which might just catapult “The Body Snatcher” back into the reckoning for a world heavyweight title.

“I’ve known Mike since 2015 when I first started getting into boxing,” Whyte says. “Mike was one that supported me back then. He was looking for guys to spar with at the time. Mike was punching holes in me back then. I had no experience. But they would pay me like 500 bucks to spar with him at the time. I was like, ‘Damn, I'm going to come here every day.’

“I just used to turn up and turn up and turn up and turn up. And then eventually, we linked up again in the future because his career slowed down and he needed some opportunity. And I said, ‘You know what? Yeah, I can help you out.’”

Whyte, 37, is preparing to face Moses Itauma, 20, in a DAZN Pay-Per-View main event Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The decision to bring Perez into the fold seems a shrewd one. At 6-foot-4, Itauma is not the biggest heavyweight in the division and, like the 6-1 Perez, is a southpaw.

The 39-year-old Cuban, Whyte says, has also provided some useful additional experience during his training camp under Buddy McGirt in Portugal.

“It’s just been beneficial for me to be around someone who’s had over 500 amateur fights,” Whyte added. “And one thing about Mike is he’s got skills. So, he’s benefited me.

“He's good and obviously he’s a grown man. He ain’t scared to tell me, ‘Bro, you’re messing about. You need to do this, you need to do that.’ He’s not a young kid. He’s older than me. I’ve got respect for him because of the accolades and what he’s achieved and his skills. So it's been great to have him around. It’s been great.”

Perez, who is a cruiserweight these days, ended a 14-month layoff in December with a 34-second knockout of Israel Duffus on the undercard of Whyte’s victory over Ebenezer Tetteh.

In June, Perez beat Steven Ward via ninth-round technical knockout before Fabio Wardley, who is managed by Whyte, knocked out Justis Huni in the main event.