Ben Whittaker won a unanimous decision over Conor Wallace on Saturday in Birmingham, England, in an IBF light heavyweight title eliminator. The scorecards read 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. Whittaker improved to 13-0-1 with nine knockouts.
The win puts him in line for Dmitry Bivol’s IBF belt. It also exposed a problem he cannot ignore.
Nine rounds of control, three of trouble
Whittaker dominated the early and middle rounds with speed and distance control. Then Wallace’s left hand started landing in the 10th. By the 12th, Whittaker was clinching, stumbling and at one point going to the canvas, though no knockdown was ruled. He survived without a count.
Wallace fell to 17-2 with 12 knockouts, but he made the finish ugly. A fighter who is three rounds from a clear win should not be hanging on at the bell.
Whittaker was candid afterward. He said it was too easy and that he took his eye off the ball. That is the right read.
It is worth saying that he still won comfortably on the scorecards, and that matters. Nobody gets an eliminator by accident. But the margin on the cards and the picture in the final rounds told two different stories.
What it means for Bivol
Whittaker is now positioned as the IBF mandatory challenger for Bivol, according to reports from the event. Whittaker also suggested a rematch with Wallace rather than rushing straight into the title fight.
Former contender Matthew Macklin questioned whether Whittaker has the toughness, chin and stamina for 12 hard rounds against elite opposition. After Saturday, that is a fair question. Wallace is a solid opponent, but he is not Bivol.
My view: Whittaker should take the extra fight. Bivol is among the most technically sophisticated light heavyweights in the sport, and he will not give away rounds or leave a fighter room to showboat. If Whittaker drops his hands and coasts against Bivol the way he did against Wallace, the night ends differently.
The rest of the card
Hamza Uddin stopped Sean Bruce in the eighth round to win the British and Commonwealth flyweight titles. Bilal Fawaz retained his British super welterweight title with an eighth-round stoppage of Eithan James. The card aired on DAZN.
The finish is the story. Whittaker has the talent to make the Bivol fight competitive. The question is whether he will fix the habits that nearly cost him on Saturday. Another fight or two before the title shot is the smart call.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.