Liam Smith believes Ben Whittaker’s talent could take him to a world title, but questions how his style holds up against an opponent who keeps pressing after the early rounds. Ahead of the Conor Wallace fight, that remains an unanswered question about the 29-year-old.
Whittaker has been matched cautiously for someone with an Olympic silver medal and extensive amateur experience. His professional opposition has given him opportunities to display his reflexes, but little evidence of how those skills survive sustained pressure from a world-class light heavyweight.
“It’s difficult to win a round against Ben Whittaker fresh and sharp,” said Liam Smith during the panel discussion. “But a 12-round fight, they’re not the same fighters in the back half, the back six. To kind of get to fighters like that, you’ve got to be able to still have the mindset, ‘I’m going to be down after four or five rounds, but then it’s my type of fight.’”
The first Liam Cameron fight gave those concerns substance. Whittaker was having difficulty before both fighters went over the ropes and he could not continue. To this writer, the ending invited the argument that he wanted out as Cameron’s pressure became harder to manage. That interpretation remains debatable, and his impressive rematch victory deserves recognition.
His Olympic experience also deserves a fair reading. Whittaker beat Russia’s Imam Khataev 4–1 before losing to Cuba’s Arlen Lopez in the final. Those results hardly suggest he cannot compete with elite amateurs, but three rounds cannot answer Smith’s question about the later stages of a professional fight.
The matchmaking is harder to explain. Across two promoters, Whittaker has received the sort of gradual development usually reserved for fighters with considerably less amateur experience. At 29, he still needs a world-class professional opponent.
That does not prove his handlers doubt him, but it gives reason to question what they are waiting to see. Wallace can help answer Smith’s concerns if he keeps Whittaker working beyond the comfortable early rounds.
