Ben Whittaker is on the very edge of recognition in arguably boxing’s hardest division, and right now he is two fights away from the light-heavyweight limelight.
The light-heavyweights have been dominated for nearly a decade by the stone-cold duo of Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. They have one win each in fights against each other, but they have been untouchable in their other 26 world-title fights. Bivol returns at the end of May, but Beterbiev remains in recess. Still, the division is ferocious.
On Saturday, Whittaker is now the main attraction at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena in a test against Argentina’s Braian Suarez; Whittaker was upgraded last week when local boxer, Callum Smith, withdrew from his fight with David Morrell. Smith against Morrell was a rare, old-school clash between two men inside the world’s top five, with just a hint of a world-title fight as the bounty.
Whittaker has not had a smooth boxing passage from the Olympic final in Tokyo in 2021 to the main event on Saturday. In late 2024 he tumbled from the ring with Liam Cameron, and the fight was declared a technical-decision draw. It had been an ugly melee before the dramatic end. The fight was close before the tumble, and the critics were harsh after the end.
“The first fight with Cameron was what I needed,” insisted Whittaker. “It saved my career because I was a little lost; I was a train crash waiting to happen. It reminded me that boxing was real, and I needed that reminder at that time.”
The pair met six months later, and Whittaker, who had Andy Lee in his corner, stopped Cameron in round two. It was a statement, and it silenced some of the doubters, but then he was inactive during a period when he switched promotional camps.
“The move to Andy was exactly what I needed at the right time,” said Whittaker. “I was getting a bit carried away. All I needed was a ring and a bag. When I started, the amateur club was in a school and there was not even a ring.”
Whittaker last fought in November when he won in just over two minutes. Suarez, who has lost four of his 25 fights, is a move in the right direction, a notable tough man if he is allowed to settle. Suarez has stopped or knocked out 20 of the 21 men he has so far beaten. It is a calculated test for Whittaker and, at 28 years old, it is the perfect time.
Right now, Whittaker is on the outside looking in at the more established British professionals at his weight, but he is calculating his next few moves. Smith is at the top of the pile, but Joshua Buatsi, Willy Hutchinson, Anthony Yarde and Zach Parker are all viable, difficult, and necessary targets.
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In many ways, Saturday’s fight is the start of the serious part of Whittaker’s career; the Olympic summer and silver were in 2021, he is unbeaten in 11 as a pro, and now it gets real and there is no space for excuses.
“It was a whirlwind after the Olympics,” continued Whittaker. “Now, I have to make it happen, and I’m ready.”
