Ben Whittaker beat Conor Wallace by unanimous decision at Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Saturday night, winning the IBF light heavyweight final eliminator and becoming the mandatory challenger for Dmitry Bivol. The scores were 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113, and Whittaker retained his WBC Silver title.
For nine rounds, it went the way his corner wanted. The unbeaten Olympic silver medallist boxed behind a sharp jab, controlled the distance and banked rounds against the Australia-based southpaw. Then Wallace planted his feet and started landing. By the championship rounds, Whittaker was holding, stumbling and surviving more than he was dictating.
No knockdowns were scored, though observers noted several moments that looked close. Whittaker needed the final bell. In his post-fight interview with DAZN, he called for a rematch and said he would beat Wallace “even better.”
What the late rally means for Bivol
Wallace entered as the IBF’s No. 2 contender, one spot ahead of Whittaker, so the winner was always going to leapfrog into position as Bivol’s next mandatory. The two had to be pulled apart by security at Thursday’s face-off, and the fight delivered the friction that promised.
The timing of any title shot is not settled. Bivol is reportedly set to face Callum Smith in December, so Whittaker will wait. How he spends that time matters, because this was billed as his toughest test yet, and the second half of it raised questions about his stamina against elite opposition. Whether his early control or his late struggle is the truer read of how he fares with a world title on the line is the open question.
Undercard results
- Hamza Uddin stopped Sean Bruce in the eighth round to win the British flyweight title and the vacant Commonwealth belt, dropping the champion multiple times before finishing with a body shot.
- Bilal Fawaz kept his British super welterweight title with an eighth-round stoppage of Eithan James.
- Ibraheem Sulaimaan outpointed Sonny Hardy over ten rounds to retain his English super featherweight title.
- Odel Kamara stopped Thodoris Ritzakis in under three rounds in his professional debut.
- Aaron Bowen took a wide decision over Baptiste to win the Midlands Area super middleweight title.
