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.

Filip Hrgovic has named a potential rematch as his most desirable fight, rather than a more likely title defence against mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez.

The Croatian did, of course, become a world heavyweight champion in August, claiming the vacant IBF title with a stunning ninth-round stoppage of Moses Itauma.

Throughout their contest, Hrgovic was getting thoroughly outboxed and even suffered a second-round knockdown, before managing to take advantage of a severely fatigued Itauma.

As a result, the 34-year-old fulfilled his long-term ambition of becoming a major champion but, soon enough, will be ordered to face leading contender Sanchez.

It was agreed, after all, that the winner of Itauma-Hrgovic would need to defend his belt against the Cuban, who accepted step-aside money under the condition that he is entitled to an immediate title shot.

From the perspective of Hrgovic, however, a unification match with former foe Daniel Dubois is far more appealing, given that it would present him with a shot at revenge and the chance to claim another title.

Speaking with The Stomping Ground‘El Animal’ highlighted this as his preferred option, despite suffering an eighth-round stoppage defeat to ‘Dynamite’ in June 2024.

“That Dubois rematch would be the best fight for me. And to get my revenge – to get [a] unification – that will be the best fight for me. But we’ll see.”

While Hrgovic, clearly, is determined to exact his revenge on Dubois, he must first defend his IBF title against Sanchez while Dubois, as the WBO champion, is entering a rematch with Fabio Wardley on October 17.

Derek Chisora is backing Rico Verhoeven to beat IBF heavyweight champion Filip Hrgovic in a proposed fight, dismissing Hrgovic’s victory over Moses Itauma as the young challenger simply getting tired.

That prediction overlooks how much Verhoeven would be giving away in boxing experience, power and overall ability. His size helped him compete against Oleksandr Usykbut the 6’6″ Hrgovic would reduce that advantage while presenting a heavier punching threat.

The matchup has been discussed for the December 11 Tyson Fury–Anthony Joshua undercard in Cardiff, although no deal has been announced. Hrgovic’s IBF mandatory challenger, Frank Sanchez, remains an obstacle after already stepping aside for the Itauma fight.

“Hrgovic would lose that fight,” Chisora told Seconds Out. “Moses Itauma didn’t get beat, Moses Itauma beat himself.

“It’s not like Moses Itauma left that ring with a beatdown, he just got tired. Hrgovic was far off in rounds, he couldn’t even landed the punches, he [Moses] just got tired.

“Itauma didn’t come out of that ring and say, ‘oh my goodness, I got my a** whooped’.”

That dismissive excuse ignores how championship boxing actually works. Fatigue does not occur by accident. Blocking concussive punches, wrestling out of clinches, and constantly retreating from a relentless 245-pound puncher burns through stamina rapidly. Itauma learned the hard way that early success evaporates if you cannot sustain the pace.

Verhoeven suffered that exact fate against Usyk, wilting the second the Ukrainian dialed up the pressure in the eleventh round. Hrgovic makes that endurance deficit even more dangerous. Rico cannot rely on superior size against a fighter who matches his height and hits considerably harder. Verhoeven built a legendary kickboxing resume, but five-round bouts provide zero preparation for surviving twelve rounds against a seasoned Olympic medalist with proven late-round stopping power.

Hrgovic showed real vulnerability when Daniel Dubois stopped him, proving his chin is not invincible. The Croatian possesses vastly superior seasoning when it comes to operating inside a grueling boxing firefight. Verhoeven came apart as Usyk piled on clean punches in the championship rounds, revealing that kickboxing dominance does not translate to twelve-round punch resistance.

Chisora gladly points out Hrgovic’s defensive holes, yet he stays silent on how Rico survives his own glaring deficits. Between ring generalship, inside fighting, and raw professional boxing experience, Hrgovic holds every meaningful card. Verhoeven earned respect simply by going deep against Usyk, but dethroning an experienced heavyweight champion demands a reservoir of endurance the kickboxer has never possessed.