Eddie Hearn insists Ben Whittaker needs one more outing before stepping in with Dmitry Bivol or Callum Smith. Whittaker’s rough final stretch against Conor Wallace made that obvious. Still, jumping in with the winner of Joshua Buatsi versus Willy Hutchinson might jeopardize the exact world title shot Hearn wants to protect.

Buatsi and Hutchinson bring power, grit, and the durability to force Whittaker into deep waters. They possess the exact tools to test the stamina and tactical focus he must prove before entering the championship picture.

“If he would have looked sensational tonight and destroyed Conor Wallace, I think we would have been in a position to say, ‘Let’s go into Bivol or Callum Smith,’” Hearn admitted at the post-fight press conference. “For me, no, he needs another fight. And now when I look at it, I think that’s the Buatsi-Hutchinson winner, that’s Yarde, or it’s Conor Wallace.”

Hearn pointed out that Whittaker was clinging on during the twelfth round largely because his gas tank emptied. Building an early lead gave him the scorecards, but showboating burned up reserves he desperately needed late. Whittaker later confessed he chased crowd reactions instead of listening to trainer Andy Lee. Against elite pressure, excessive dancing becomes an expensive luxury. Buatsi or Hutchinson will turn up the heat long before round twelve.

Running it back with Wallace offers familiar territory, yet Wallace now knows Whittaker can be cracked late. He would surely press earlier instead of letting Whittaker find a rhythm.

Hearn is eyeing February or March for a Birmingham return. Stacking up another win helps, but Whittaker must showcase disciplined pacing, tighter defense, and a composed finish. Slowing the path to Bivol or Smith gives him room to fix those flaws. Facing the Buatsi-Hutchinson victor right now might expose them instead.

Ben Whittaker (13-0-1) survived a punishing final round to defeat Conor Wallace (17-2) by unanimous decision, retaining his WBC Silver light heavyweight title and securing the IBF mandatory position for Dmitry Bivol’s belt. The scores were 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 after 12 rounds in Birmingham.

Whittaker controlled much of the early action, but Wallace hurt him badly in the 12th, leaving him grabbing and struggling to stay upright. No knockdowns were officially scored, although several falls drew criticism over whether Wallace should have received knockdown calls during his late push for a stoppage.

Undercard results

Odel Kamara (1-0) stopped Thodoris Ritzakis (5-6-1) in round three of his professional debut tonight in Birmingham, landing a short uppercut before the referee waved it off. Eddie Hearn rates the 22-year-old junior middleweight highly, but Kamara looked wild swinging for the fences and took unnecessary punches from his overmatched opponent.

The stoppage drew ringside criticism for being premature, and Kamara’s power looked less impressive than the result suggests. At 5’8″, he could be better suited to welterweight, although his stocky build leaves a question over whether he can comfortably make 147 pounds.

Hamza Uddin (8-0) stopped Sean Bruce (8-3) at 2:49 of round eight to capture the British flyweight title and vacant Commonwealth belt at Utilita Arena in Birmingham. The 23-year-old from Walsall scored three knockdowns, finishing Bruce with a body shot near the ropes.

Bruce doubled over and went down, prompting referee Victor Loughlin to wave off the contest without starting a count. Uddin picked apart the champion with accurate punching, producing an impressive performance in his first British title fight. Bruce lost his belt in his first defense and could not withstand Uddin’s precision or sustained attack.

Bilal Fawaz (13-1-1) retained his British and Commonwealth junior middleweight titles by stopping Eithan James (17-3) at 1:14 of round eight in Birmingham. A heavy right hand sent James to the canvas near the ropes, and another knockdown brought the referee’s intervention.

The 38-year-old Fawaz delivered the finish just as commentary suggested he was beginning to feel the pace. James suffered his first stoppage defeat, while Fawaz earned the £5,000 knockout bonus Eddie Hearn had offered before the fight.

English super featherweight champion Ibraheem Sulaimaan retained his title with a hard-fought unanimous decision over Sonny Hardy after 10 rounds at Utilita Arena Birmingham. The scores were 97–93, 97–93 and 96–93, moving the Birmingham southpaw to 12–0 and handing Hardy his first defeat at 12–1.

Sulaimaan started quickly, but Hardy pushed him through a difficult stretch in the middle rounds, knocking his gumshield out during one exchange. The champion also had a point deducted before recovering his momentum in the eighth and finishing strongly over the final three rounds. Several ringside observers scored the contest considerably closer than the official judges, with some favoring Hardy.

Aaron Bowen (9-1) captured the Midlands Area super middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Klinton Baptiste (5-1) at Utilita Arena in Birmingham. The scores were 99-91, 99-92 and 98-92 after 10 rounds.

Bowen controlled the fight, catching Baptiste with clean right hands against the ropes and pressing for a stoppage. Baptiste fought with one eye closed for roughly half the contest but lasted the distance without a reported knockdown.

The punishment prompted ringside criticism that his corner should have intervened, although his durability kept Bowen from securing the finish. Bowen earned a clear victory, while Baptiste’s resistance made the closing rounds harder than the wide scores might suggest. Baptiste looked gone on a couple of occasions, but surprisingly, he stayed in there.

Super featherweight Adam Maca (7-0, 6 KOs) stopped Rogger Rivera (3-6, 2 KOs) at 2:56 of round two in their scheduled six-round contest. The 19-year-old unloaded with power shots until referee Chris Dean stepped in to end the fight. It was Maca’s sixth stoppage in seven professional outings.

The teenager produced another impressive finish, but he is making this level of opposition look too easy. Rivera offered little opportunity to assess how Maca handles resistance or adjusts when his power alone cannot settle a fight. Maca looks ready for better opposition that can extend him and give him more to solve.

Harley Burrows stopped Matias Ezequiel Herrera at 1:24 of round two in their scheduled six-round middleweight contest on the Ben Whittaker–Conor Wallace undercard in Birmingham. The 20-year-old southpaw pressured Herrera from the opening bell, mixing punches to the head and body.

Burrows trapped the Argentine against the ropes in the second round and punched through his high guard until referee Ryan Churchill intervened. Herrera had not been knocked down before the stoppage, which drew some ringside criticism for being slightly early. Burrows’ attack was wild at times, but his sustained pressure kept Herrera struggling to find room to respond.

The DAZN broadcast starts at 2:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. UK, with a subscription required. That is the card’s start time; Whittaker and Wallace fight later in the evening.

Whittaker has a chance to move within reach of a world title shot, but he must first get through Wallace over the scheduled 12 rounds. British title fights involving Sean Bruce and Bilal Fawaz feature on the undercard.

Live results — upcoming

Ben Whittaker vs Conor Wallace: Light heavyweights, 12 rounds.

Sean Bruce vs Hamza Uddin: Flyweights, 12 rounds, for Bruce’s British title and the vacant Commonwealth title.

Bilal Fawaz vs Eithan James: Junior middleweights, 12 rounds, for Fawaz’s British title.

Ibraheem Sulaimaan vs Sonny Hardy: Super featherweights, 10 rounds.

Odel Kamara vs Thodoris Ritzakis: Middleweights, four rounds.

Bilal Fawaz (13-1-1) retained his British and Commonwealth junior middleweight titles with an eighth-round stoppage of Eithan James (17-3) tonight at Utilita Arena in Birmingham. The finish came at 1:14 of the round, earning the 38-year-old champion the £5,000 knockout bonus Eddie Hearn had offered before the fight.

Fawaz landed a heavy right hand that dropped James near the ropes, then scored another knockdown before the referee ended the contest. For James, it was his first stoppage defeat, with all his previous professional fights having gone to decisions.

The ending came almost immediately after commentator Darren Barker suggested Fawaz was feeling the pace. That observation offered James some encouragement, but Fawaz still had enough power to end the fight suddenly. Any prospect of the younger challenger taking advantage of a tiring champion disappeared with the right hand.

James, 26, entered with considerably more experience going the distance than dealing with a fight-ending crisis. His record showed he could complete rounds, but Fawaz forced a different test in the eighth. Once the champion hurt him, James could not get through the follow-up and recover between rounds.

For Fawaz, the result gives him a successful defense against a challenger 12 years younger. His age will remain part of the discussion when tougher opponents arrive, particularly if he begins to tire during longer fights. Against James, however, he retained the punching power to settle the contest before it reached the championship rounds.

WHAT A FINISH! 🤯

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Hearn’s bonus added a financial reward to the finish, although keeping both titles was the larger achievement. Fawaz left Birmingham with his belts after turning a moment when his stamina was being questioned into the decisive attack.

James now has a different kind of defeat to recover from. Previous points losses allowed him to finish the fight; this time, Fawaz’s power took that option away.