Ben Whittaker flattens Benjamin Gavazi with brutal first-round knockout

Ben Whittaker made quick work of Benjamin Gavazi on Saturday night in his first fight under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.

The Olympic silver medallist blasted his way through the unheralded German in two minutes and 15 seconds of the first round at Birmingham’s NEC Arena.

Gavazi entered the bout as an unknown quantity, having never fought anyone of note during a 21-fight (19-2) career.

And it quickly became clear that he was woefully out of his depth.

The travelling fighter struggled to lay a glove on Whittaker before he was sent tumbling to the canvas by a blistering flurry of shots.

Gavazi made his way back to his feet, but he did so on unsteady legs. 

Sensing his moment, Whittaker (10-0-1) piled on the pressure and uncorked a dynamite right hand to flatten his overmatched foe. 

Gavazi hit the canvas with an almighty thud as medics rushed to the ring to tend to him. 

Thankfully, he was back on his feet after a few minutes, while Whittaker showed immense class by not over-celebrating the victory.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath, the local hero said: “When you walk out pretty like that, you have to back up, and that is what I did.

“Andy [Lee] said in the locker room, ‘What you do in sparring is enough, just go out there and do that. Work behind your things, and it will all come together’.

“And damn, I looked good. At the end of the day, I could see he was a game kid; I could see it in his eyes.

Matchroom Boxing

“At the end of the day, this is an opportunity to change his life.

“But at the press conference, he let something slip. He said, ‘I have got nothing to lose’. Well, I am a person who has everything to lose.”

The mic was then passed to Whittaker’s new promoter, Hearn, who began waxing lyrical.

“Listen, all I can is wow,” said the British boxing mogul.

“Sometimes people come into an arena, and they light up the place.

“But what matters is what happens in here (the ring).

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“We know there are many levels above Gavazi to where we have got to get to.

“But what you do with that level is you go in there, and you destroy them clinically, and you produce a showreel knockout that the whole world watches for the next week.

“Millions and millions of views watching this young man, who is so special.

“And when you talk about the greats of British boxing in the past, Naseem Hamed, Chris Eubank Sr, all of those eccentric characters with plenty of ability.

“This guy has it all. He has the ability to light up British boxing and light up world boxing.”