Whittaker vs Buatsi ordered – Will Hearn take the gamble?

Promoter Eddie Hearn says he may allow Ben Whittaker to “take a gamble” and fight Joshua Buatsi in the WBC-ordered light heavyweight eliminator.

WBC forces Hearn’s hand

Hearn is still not sure if Whittaker (10-0-1, 7 KOs) should fight Buatsi. He says it is “Sooner than we expected.” The WBC ordered it because Whittaker captured their Silver 175-lb title with his first-round knockout victory over Benjamin Gavazi on November 29.

Whittaker’s 29-ish – Prospect Era is over

Hearn is not saying how long he plans to continue developing 2020 Olympic silver medalist Whittaker. He is about to turn 29, which puts him at the same age as Hearn’s other fighter, Conor Benn, who he wants to use to take the place of the aging past prime Anthony Joshua.

Hearn needs someone to take over as his flagship fighter for his Matchroom company. With Whittaker, it is doubtful whether he can win and hold world titles. We know we can beat fighters and second tier guys. He showed it against the unranked, lower level fighters, Liam Cameron and Gavazi.

The way Whittaker looked in his first fight against Cameron, and how he fell apart against Arlen Lopez in the 2020 Olympics, suggests that he is incapable of winning world titles against any of the existing champions.

The Big Four are not yet named

Whittaker does not look good enough to defeat contenders David Morrell, Imam Khataev, Arlen Lopez or Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Interestingly, Hearn never mentions those fighters when he talks about the “three levels” of fighters that Whittaker has to go through. He mentions vulnerable British fighters but does not include The Big Four: Morrell, Khataev, Lopez and Gvozdyk.

Design flaws everywhere

It’s a red flag for Hearn that Ben will likely maneuver around them and treat them like a rocky obstacle he sends the. barely seaworthy Whittaker around. Right now, Ben has too many design flaws and is too flawed to be put in the top contenders. If you go into the sea now, he will sink without a complete overhaul.

At Whittaker’s advanced age, it might be possible. When a fighter is 30, they are as good as they will ever be. You’re not going to see significant improvements putting them at a level they were never designed to work at.

“Contractually we know he’s fighting in America in the spring, but sooner or later you’re going to be in those fights,” promoter Eddie Hearn told the Stampede grounds about Ben Whittaker being ordered to fight Joshua Buatsi for a WBC 175-lb title eliminator.

“There’s kind of three levels. Bivol, Beterbiev, Benavidez, Callum, Yarde, Buatsi, and then Dan Azeez, Craig Richards, Zach Parker, Willy Hutchinson. So, you want to go through those levels,” Hearn said, hinting that he wasn’t going to risk putting Whittaker in with Butatsi.

Domestic Route Option

If Hearn is going to burn Whittaker for the next two years and fight British level fighters like Azeez, Richards, Parker and Hutchinson in the hope of bettering him, he is wasting his time. He’s only going to get older, not better.

It seems to Robert Segal that Hearn will stop for some time with Whittaker. Match him up against lower-level British fighters like the one above, and wait for the aging Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev to either retire or get old enough for Whittaker to beat them.

The unmentionables: Morrell, Khataev, Arlen

In the case of David Benavidez, a delay for time could lead to him leaving the division to move up to cruiserweight. Once he’s gone, it’s one less fighter Hearn has to worry about exposing Whittaker as a flawed fighter. The only ones Hearn will have to worry about are Morrell, Khataev and Arlen. He already treats them as if they don’t exist. So logic tells you that they will be glad the unmentionables.

“If we take that fight (Buatsi for Whittaker), it’s sooner than we expected, but after that fight in America we might just do it,” says Hearn. “It’s a brilliant fight, and it’s a fight that I think Ben wins. Do you want to be 100% ready for those fights, or do you want to take a risk? We don’t really need to take a risk with the size of Ben Whittaker.”

I can’t wait to see who Hearn picks for Whittaker’s next fight in America. It should be fun. Who does he dig up to make Ben look like 24k gold? I’m predicting it now, Minnesota resident David Morrell won’t get the pick.

“We have seen the numbers on DAZN and about social. They were huge,” Hearn said of Whittaker’s ratings for his Matchroom debut against Benjamin Gavazi. “So, we’ve got one of the biggest stars in British boxing. Right now Ben Whittaker and Conor Benn are swinging from Joshua and Tyson Fury; they are the biggest stars by a mile.”