BIRMINGHAM — British light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker survived a dramatic late onslaught from Conor Wallace to secure a points victory at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham and move into position for a world-title shot. The judges scored the IBF eliminator 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 for Whittaker, who withstood serious trouble in the 10th and 12th rounds to hold on until the final bell.
The 29-year-old Olympic silver medallist from Tokyo 2020 controlled much of the contest with superior boxing skill and trademark showboating before his focus slipped late. "It was too easy and I took my eye off the ball a little bit. He caught me with a good shot but that's boxing," Whittaker said. "When it got a bit too easy I was playing too much and doing silly antics." The win extended his unbeaten professional record to 13 wins and one draw since his debut in July 2022.
Wallace, 30, who suffered the second defeat of his 19-fight career, rocked Whittaker with a thudding southpaw left in the sixth and again in a near-disastrous 10th, when Whittaker walked onto a huge shot and looked in serious trouble. Trainer Andy Lee had warned between rounds, "Stay focused. Just because you're comfortable, don't get lazy." Wallace was warned for punching on the break but kept pressing, and Whittaker hit the canvas three times in the final round — none ruled knockdowns — as a major upset loomed. Wallace called for an immediate rematch, but Whittaker responded, "If he wants to run it back and get a beat down again he can. If not, we'll move on." Promoter Eddie Hearn said, "We know Ben is in the position to fight the winner of Bivol-Smith but it's likely that won't be until next summer, so he needs to fight in the interim."
Whittaker, from nearby West Bromwich, made an extravagant entrance to a live string ensemble playing WWE star The Undertaker's theme before switching to "Icon" by Karen, fighting in front of roughly 5,000 fans with as many jeers as cheers. Among those in attendance were former UFC champion Leon Edwards and American Cassondra Gainey, who travelled nearly 4,000 miles from North Carolina after Whittaker's social-media videos helped lift her spirits during cancer treatment. Whittaker is now mandatory challenger for IBF champion Dmitry Bivol, who also holds the WBA 'super' and WBO belts and is expected to face Liverpool's Callum Smith in December.
On the undercard, Nigeria-born Londoner Bilal Fawaz stopped Eithan James in the eighth round to retain his British and Commonwealth light-middleweight titles, earning a £5,000 stoppage bonus from Hearn and improving to 13 wins, one defeat and one draw with five stoppages. "It doesn't matter who is in front of me, with the capacity of what we are trying to achieve, no one can stop us except if they are at world level," Fawaz told BBC Radio 5 Live after calling out IBF world champion Josh Kelly and Conor Benn. Walsall's unbeaten Hamza Uddin, 23, dominated Sean Bruce for an eighth straight win, dropping him twice in the fifth before closing the show in the ninth, while standout amateur Odel Kamara, 22, marked his professional debut with a first-round knockdown of Thodoris Ritzakis before a third-round stoppage. The eliminator follows Ben Whittaker Faces Conor Wallace in IBF Light-Heavyweight Eliminator as Whittaker closes in on a shot at Bivol.