Ben Whittaker (9-0-1, 6 KOs) weighed in at 174.8 lbs, while his opponent, Benjamin Gavazi (19-1, 13 KOs) came in at 174.5 pounds on Friday’s weigh-in for their 10-round headliner for the WBC Silver light heavyweight title this Saturday at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham.
There will be a lot of eyes on the Matchroom Boxing-promoted Whittaker on Saturday, as fans want to see if he’s as good as promoter Eddie Hearn says he is. We know he won a silver medal in the 2020 Olympics for GB, but he’s got a lot more to prove in the pro ranks. Hearn views Whittaker as a can’t-miss superstar.
Weigh-in results
- Ben Whittaker 174.8 vs. Benjamin Gavazi 174.5
- Cameron Vuong 134.85 vs Gavin Gwynne 134.5
- Aaron Bowen 159 vs Tom Cowling 159.9
- Molly McCann 121.95 vs Ebonie Cotton 120.95
Saturday’s Whittaker vs. Gavazi card will be streamed live on DAZN beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 pm PT.
“He was gutted with Silver, he was disgusted that he didn’t win gold. But he’s a winner. He’s also the full package,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Rachel Rose Boxing about Ben Whittaker’s reaction to winning a Silver medal in the 2020 Olympics after losing to Cuba’s Arlen Lopez by a three-round split decision in the finals.
It’s easy to see why Whittaker came up short in the Olympics. He spent too much time showboating instead of standing and fighting the Cuban Lopez. While that approach worked in Ben’s three-round split decision victory over Russia’s Imam Khataev in the semi-finals of the Olympics, it didn’t work against Arlen Lopez.
“This is his 11th fight. There are still two or three fights to get under your belt. It’s a tough division. There will be more pressure on him, and people will be more critical because of what he’s like. If he underperforms [he’ll get dumped on].
“Look at the Cameron #1 fight. I don’t think he should have performed that night, but he got 10 times more stick than anyone else would have got. But tough, that’s what comes with the territory of being a showman,” said Hearn.
