Eddie Hearn says Ben Whittaker has the ability to beat WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez within the next 18 months, making a bold prediction about his unbeaten fighter despite Whittaker not yet having fought at world level.
Hearn spoke to FightHype about Whittaker’s ceiling.
I’ll tell you now, the level, the only level that I think is going to be competitive for Ben Whittaker is the big levels: Benavidez, Bivol, Beterbiev, all those guys. I don’t see anybody else. Honestly, you’ll see this kid’s a special fighter. I’m telling you, Ben Whittaker can beat him maybe next year, year and a half, something like that.
Whittaker, 28, remains unbeaten as a professional but has yet to face a world-level opponent. Benavidez is widely regarded as one of the leading figures at 175 pounds and is expected to pursue an undisputed fight against Dmitry Bivol, with a cruiserweight unification bout against WBC champion Noel Mikaelian also under discussion.