The Fight Whittaker Actually Needs
Right then — this is more like it. Whittaker vs Wallace, an IBF light heavyweight final eliminator, is reportedly agreed for October 3 at BP Pulse Live in Birmingham. Nothing official from the promoters or the sanctioning body yet, so file it under strongly expected rather than signed and sealed — but the word from Wallace's team is that the matchup is in place. Wallace holds the #2 ranking, Whittaker sits #3, and the winner goes to mandatory. Simple stakes, proper fight.
Let's not beat around the bush: Ben Whittaker has been boxing's most-watched highlight reel for three years, and the criticism has always been the same — brilliant, but against who? That question got a partial answer when he blasted out his man in two rounds on the Jaron Ennis undercard in the summer, defending his WBC Silver strap. But an eliminator against a live, ranked southpaw is a different tier entirely. Win this and nobody can say the Olympic silver medallist hasn't earned his shot.
Don't Sleep On Wallace
Conor Wallace is not a name British casuals know, and that is exactly what makes him dangerous. The Newry southpaw, fighting out of Australia, has punched his way up the IBF rankings and arrives with genuine one-shot power in that left hand. Tall, rangy, awkward — the sort of opponent who does not read the script, and who has absolutely nothing to lose in front of Whittaker's home crowd.
And make no mistake, Whittaker gives you chances. The showboating, the hands-down moments, the walk-offs — it's box office, but southpaw counter-punchers feed on that sort of generosity. If Whittaker plays to the crowd instead of to the scorecards, this becomes a genuinely nervy night in Birmingham.
How It Plays Out
The Styles
Whittaker's hand speed is the difference at this level — it's levels, plain and simple. The check hook, the right hand over the top against the southpaw stance, the feet that get him out of the pocket before the return comes back. Wallace will look to time him coming in and drag him into the trenches late. The longer it goes at Wallace's tempo, the more live the underdog gets.
My Prediction
I'm not sitting on the fence. Whittaker vs Wallace ends with Whittaker announcing himself as a world title challenger — I take him to hurt Wallace with the right hand in the middle rounds and force a stoppage inside eight. But he has to be switched on for every second, because Wallace carries the equaliser everywhere he goes. Do it seriously, Ben, and the mandatory spot — and a world title shot — is waiting. Do it for the cameras and Birmingham might witness the upset of the year.