Ben Whittaker Main Event ππ
https://i.postimg.cc/vTz4j7RV/IMG-6118.jpg
βThat was some very careful matchmaking for Ben Whittaker last night. The new Matchroom unbeaten star was matched with Benjamin Gavazi (19-1), and he blew him away inside one round.
A closer look at Gavaziβs record tells its own story. The combined records of his first twenty opponents show they had lost far more than they had won, with a total record of 169 wins and 342 losses, a negative gap of 173 defeats.
One of those opponents, Aleksandar Kuvac, is still active and fighting again in two weeks. His record stands at 14 wins and 129 losses, with 80 of those defeats coming by knockout. Gavazi fought him twice..
You look at numbers like that and you start questioning the way boxing matchups are made, the safety of fighters, and how new stars are built on live television.
None of this takes anything away from Ben, he can only fight who is put in front of him. But, this is how the business of boxing really looks when you scratch the surface.
And this is nothing new. Go back and look at the early opponents of fighters like Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. Thatβs just two examples from the past.β
β-Disclaimerβ-
I did not wrote this
Re: Ben Whittaker Main Event ππ
Whitaker to me remains one heavily benefiting from the 'exciting' creation train more so than proven substance. The crazy work is he's being handed title belts off this exact opponent while barley ranked in its top 10 (9th) himself. On the flipside, going into the 4th year at least Tyson had legit top scalps on his belt, was unified champ and showed a legitimate skillset. Chavez also. Ben may do some things and he's quite unique, but at this point it looks like they're far more concentrated on 'marketing' him rather than 'molding' him. Little bit of a difference.
Re: Ben Whittaker Main Event ππ
That does look terrible but Ben is building again with a new promotion company and this is his first fight with them. He headlined a local event in Birmingham and the card was good. It was a devastating first round knock out and you can not ask him to do anything more than that.
Re: Ben Whittaker Main Event ππ
Hearn said: "I would say give us between three and five fights.
"It depends who the champions are, though, because you might have Michael Eifert fighting Conor Wallace for the vacant IBF title, and we would take that fight next.
"But when you're talking about Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev or David Benavidez, then that's more like five fights.
"Those guys are the goal, but I see it as three levels in that division.
"First, you've got domestic guys like Craig Richards, Dan Azeez, Zach Parker and Willy Hutchinson.
"Then second, you've got guys like Callum Smith and Anthony Yarde, then top level is Bivol, Beterbiev and Benavidez. Right now, we are approaching that bottom tier.
"In 2026, he steps up to the next level, and he will be ready."
https://talksport.com/boxing/3783153...e-eddie-hearn/