Eddie Hearn plots world title path for ‘superstar’ Ben Whittaker after statement KO on US debut
Eddie Hearn said Ben Whittaker is now being positioned for a world title shot after an impressive knockout in New York.
It was Whittaker‘s debut on American soil and ‘The Surgeon’ dazzled, scoring two knockdowns to stop Richard Rivera in the second round of their clash at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
‘The Surgeon’ was flashy on his feet and put his foot on the gas from the opening bell, dropping Rivera against the ropes with a sharp right hand in the first.
Rivera beat the standing count at nine before the bell sounded and Whittaker, whose speed advantage was evident throughout the fight, danced back to his corner full of confidence.
A lightning left hand from Whittaker had Rivera on the ground again just 12 seconds into round two.
And after another standing count, Rivera showed his gloves to go again, but referee Michael Griffin had seen enough and quickly waved off the fight.
Hearn, who signed Whittaker to Matchroom Boxing from Ben Shalom’s Boxxer last October, labelled the 29-year-old a ‘superstar of the sport’ after the contest.
He then confirmed Whittaker’s next outing would be at the top of a Birmingham card in October.
“Brooklyn, that’s how you do it,” Whittaker said after claiming the WBC silver light heavyweight title.
“I hit him, and he went to sleep. When you hit them like that, that’s all she wrote.”
Hearn: Two or three before world title shot
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Hearn addressed how he foresees Whittaker’s path to a world title unfolding.
Dmitry Bivol, who is expected to face Briton Callum Smith next, holds the WBA, WBO and IBF titles in Whittaker’s light heavyweight division, while David Benavidez is the WBC champion.
“The next fight will be another step up like tonight was,” Hearn said.
“To be honest, we have to start positioning ourselves for a world title. So we need a big domestic name or a fight that’s going to get him mandatory— a Final eliminator.
“At the end of the day, you can’t go from Rivera to Bivol, Benavidez and [Artur] Beterbiev. There are two or three more in between Rivera and those guys.
“We have to go through the levels and understand that [Whittaker’s] still relatively inexperienced in the professional code. That was his first completed round tonight in a year and three fights.
“He’s still the highest-paid fighter per round on the planet, which is good!
“I don’t think it would be wise to go from Rivera to Beterbiev and those kinds of guys; you’ve got to fight through the levels, and he’s, as you’ve seen, demolishing these levels.”
Responding to online rumours, Hearn said Londoner Craig Richards has ‘not been discussed’ regarding Whittaker’s next opponent.
The Matchroom Sport chairman did, however, add British 175lbs duo Joshua Buatsi and Anthony Yarde as suitable names to meet ‘The Surgeon’ next.
“This is where we’ve got to be,” Hearn concluded.
“We’ll do a big crowd in the arena [in Birmingham] and we’ll keep on going.”
Whittaker’s victory over Rivera came on the undercard of Xander Zayas’ WBA and WBO super welterweight title mega-fight against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
‘Boots’ survived an early scare from Zayas in an all-out war to stop the Puerto Rican in round seven after three knockdowns and become a two-weight world champion.
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Ennis is now undefeated in 36 professional bouts and will push forward to become undisputed champion at 154lbs in the future.
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