Ben Whittaker (10-0-1, 7 KOs) made short work of his opponent, Benjamin Gavazi (19-2, 13 KOs), obliterating him in one round on Saturday night to claim the vacant WBC Silver light heavyweight strap at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England.
Gavazi was dropped by a right hand from the 2020 Olympic silver medalist, Whittaker, almost immediately. Whittaker backed him up with a couple of right hands and then put him down with a right to the head. It wasn’t a crushing punch. Whittaker landed it flush, and it was enough to put Gavazi down.
The finishing knockdown came from a left hook, followed quickly by a right from Whittaker that sent Gavazi on his back. He looked hurt as he lay on the canvas like a pancake. At that point, the referee wasn’t going to waste time with a count, and he immediately stopped the bout. The time was 2:15 in round one.
It was over so quickly that it was impossible to gauge how good Whittaker was, as his opponent, Gavazi, looked like a step down from his previous foe, Liam Cameron. That guy was a domestic-level journeyman. Gavazi looked like a downgrade from him. This was supposed to be a step up in class, but it was immediately clear that this was not an improvement in the opponent.
After the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn repeatedly said, “Wow,” reacting to his recent Matchroom signee, Whittaker’s performance. He didn’t say who he would match the 28-year-old Whittaker up against next, as he’s supposed to be fast-tracking him toward a world title shot.
This week, Hearn has talked about wanting to put Whittaker in with British fighters, Joshua Buatsi and the recently knocked out Anthony Yarde. It would be more interesting to see how Whittaker does against someone with a chin, like David Morrell. He’s older than the Cuban fighter.