At the post-fight press conference, Hearn said the plan was no longer simply building on Whittaker’s experience.
“We have to start positioning now for a world title,” Hearn said. “We need a big local name or a fight that will make him mandatory, a final eliminator.”
Hearn also made it clear that Matchroom has no intention of pushing Whittaker into fights with the division’s biggest names.
“You can’t go from Rivera to Bivol and Benavidez and Beterbiev,” Hearn said. “You’ve got to fight those guys. There’s still two or three between Rivera and those guys.”
Instead, Hearn said Whittaker will continue to move up the rankings one step at a time.
“The next fight will be another step up. Like tonight was a step up. You keep performing, you keep producing the performances, and you go through the levels.”
As examples of realistic opponents, Hearn mentioned Joshua Buatsi, Anthony Yarde and Willie Hutchinson, while noting that Callum Smith is expected to move in a different direction.
Whittaker, meanwhile, said he was content to leave the matchups to his team.
“All I do is just practice, and whoever they put in front of me, I hit them,” Whittaker said.
