- Ben Whittaker weighed in at 174.9lbs and Conor Wallace at 173.9lbs, so both are inside the 175lb limit for tonight's IBF light heavyweight final eliminator in Birmingham
- Whittaker defends his WBC silver title, Wallace has promised to knock him out, and the winner becomes the IBF's No. 1 contender to Dmitry Bivol
- I back Whittaker to deal with Wallace, and it should end before the final bell
The Scales Are Done
Right then. Fight day in Birmingham, and nobody has any excuses. Ben Whittaker came in at 174.9lbs and Conor Wallace at 173.9lbs, both inside the light heavyweight limit, so it is all about what happens when the bell goes. The winner of tonight's IBF final eliminator becomes the number one challenger to Dmitry Bivol, and Whittaker's WBC silver title is also on the line.
The main event is live on DAZN, with the ringwalks expected around 10:33pm UK time and the undercard from 7pm. It is included in the subscription, no pay-per-view, which is exactly how it should be for a British show of this quality.
Wallace Has Made Big Promises
Wallace has been loud all week, vowing to knock Whittaker out. Make no mistake, I like the confidence. He is a 2020 Olympic silver medallist with a 17-1 record and some serious momentum, including recent wins in Australia, and he has nothing to lose. Fighters who have nothing to lose are dangerous.
What Whittaker Brings
Whittaker is 12-0-1 and has all the tools: speed, flash, awkward angles, and the ability to turn a fight on a single combination. The knock on him is that he can get lazy and take unnecessary risks, and Wallace is exactly the type who will make him pay if he gets careless. If you know, you know: the Whittaker who stays disciplined is levels above this field.
The Bigger Picture
I covered the build-up in Whittaker faces Wallace with a Bivol shot on the line, and nothing in the weigh-in changes my view. Bivol is the real prize. A Whittaker win sets up a shot at one of the best fighters on the planet, and that is a career-defining night for a man who has been told he needs to be more serious.
The Prediction
Let's not beat around the bush. Wallace will land something early, the crowd will go quiet for a moment, and then Whittaker will settle. From the middle rounds the speed and the angles take over. Whittaker by stoppage, somewhere between rounds seven and ten. Brilliant night for British boxing if he does it.