Ben Whittaker beats Conor Wallace by unanimous decision

A comfortable lead became a desperate exercise in survival as Ben Whittaker withstood Conor Wallace’s final round assault to win unanimously at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena. The scores, 117 to 111, 116 to 112 and 115 to 113, secured the unbeaten Briton an IBF mandatory position, but scarcely conveyed the anxiety of the finish. Whittaker repeatedly reached for Wallace, lost his footing and went to the floor. None of those incidents was ruled a knockdown. He reached the bell with his advantage intact and his composure considerably less so.

The October 3 contest combined a defence of Whittaker’s WBC Silver light heavyweight championship with an IBF final eliminator. Whittaker, 29, improved from 12 wins and a draw to 13 wins and a draw; Wallace, 30, went from 17 wins and one defeat to 17 wins and two defeats, with 12 knockouts. The Northern Irish southpaw, established professionally in Australia, had arrived on a ten fight winning run. His previous defeat by Leti Leti had been avenged by a sixth-round knockout, while his victory over Jerome Pampellone in 2024 helped establish his credentials.

Whittaker weighed 174.9 pounds, Wallace 173.9. The Olympic silver medallist had described his opponent beforehand as a stepping stone, an assessment which looked plausible for much of the evening and decidedly less helpful at its conclusion. His entrance featured The Undertaker’s wrestling theme. Wallace brought vocal travelling support from Ireland and Australia, and those supporters had ample reason to make themselves heard when their man finally began landing with authority.

The opening exchanges were cautious. Whittaker probed with his jab, worked at head and body and waited for opportunities to counter. Wallace’s southpaw jab offered a means of entering the contest, but his reluctance to commit left Whittaker controlling both distance and pace. The difference in hand speed was apparent whenever the home boxer put punches together. Wallace could not merely step forward and expect to find him waiting.

The third round provided the first substantial breakthrough. Whittaker landed sharply with his left hook and briefly unsettled Wallace, following his success with further clean work. By the bell, the visitor had a cut above his left eye. Whittaker’s confidence grew in the fourth, when another hook and his familiar flourishes reinforced the impression that he had settled into command. His defensive movement frustrated Wallace, although the challenger continued searching for an opening rather than chasing recklessly.

There were warnings that this would not remain entirely straightforward. Wallace found his left hand in the fifth, only for Whittaker to answer with a right which drove him towards the ropes. Another heavy left landed in the sixth. Wallace was beginning to show that he could reach the target, but isolated successes did not yet amount to sustained pressure. Through the middle rounds, Whittaker continued to dictate proceedings with movement, jabs and occasional rights, while Wallace’s caution allowed valuable minutes to pass without a meaningful change in the contest.

The tenth transformed the evening. Wallace’s straight left began landing with force, and Whittaker’s low hands ceased to look like an expression of confidence. He was hurt, reached to clinch and tumbled during the scramble. Wallace followed his success with more punches as the crowd responded to a fight which had suddenly acquired uncertainty. Whittaker’s attempts to answer did not restore the earlier ease. Andy Lee wanted his boxer to use his movement and remain disciplined; the temptation to stand and trade offered Wallace precisely the opportunity he needed.

Whittaker recovered some control in the eleventh, but the final round was an altogether different matter. Wallace pursued him with repeated left hands, shaking him badly and forcing increasingly urgent attempts to hold. Whittaker stumbled to the canvas several times amid the grabbing and collisions. The absence of a count became a conspicuous feature of the finish, yet Wallace could not obtain the stoppage. Whittaker endured the remaining punishment and heard the bell, having turned a contest he largely controlled into one he was relieved to complete.

His explanation was candid about concentration. “I took my eye off the ball a little bit,” Whittaker said. He also denied being seriously hurt, attributing the closing disorder to Wallace making matters messy. The distinction did little to alter what had unfolded. Wallace’s assessment was shorter: “I did too little too late.” Both men welcomed the possibility of a return, and Eddie Hearn left that option open.

The immediate reward is a mandatory position against the winner of Dmitry Bivol’s scheduled December defence against Callum Smith. Hearn indicated that Whittaker would need another contest while awaiting his opportunity. The evening’s supporting fights included eighth-round stoppage victories for Hamza Uddin over Sean Bruce and Bilal Fawaz over Eithan James, securing British and Commonwealth honours for Uddin and retaining them for Fawaz. Odel Kamara began his professional career by stopping Thodoris Ritzakis in the third.

Elsewhere, Ibraheem Sulaimaan retained his English super featherweight championship against Sonny Hardy by unanimous decision, with scores of 97 to 93 twice and 96 to 93. Aaron Bowen took the Midlands Area super middleweight title from Klinton Baptiste, winning 99 to 91, 99 to 92 and 98 to 92. Adam Maca and Harley Burrows recorded second-round stoppages, while Paige Murney won on points. Whittaker supplied the headline victory, but Wallace ensured it came with questions attached.

I’ve got Whittaker winning, but that finish exposed a problem he cannot shrug off as a bit of messing about. His early control came from judging distance and putting punches together before Wallace could answer. The right hand followed by the left hook was proper boxing. The showboating added nothing to it.

Wallace deserves credit for staying composed when he was being beaten to the punch. He kept finding the left hand, and as his confidence grew, Whittaker’s control became less secure. My criticism of Wallace is that he took too long to impose himself. Against someone who wants room to operate, you have to make him work for that room earlier. Waiting until the closing stages leaves too much to recover.

For Ben, low hands became an expensive habit once Wallace started reaching him. When he was hurt, his response was to lunge forward and grab. Clinching is sensible survival work, but reaching desperately for your opponent while your balance is going is a dangerous place to be. The falls deserved closer scrutiny; I’m not comfortable dismissing everything as a slip when a fighter is visibly shaken.

Whittaker earned his lead and showed resolve to survive. Wallace’s late success doesn’t erase the cleaner work Ben had already done. But I want to see discipline when the fight feels easy: finish your attack, recover your position and stay defensively aware. Talent won Whittaker this fight. His lapses nearly handed it back.