Ben Whittaker (10-0-1, 7 KOs) made brief work of his opponent, Benjamin Gavazi (19-2, 13 KOs), obliterating him in a single spherical on Saturday evening to assert the vacant WBC Silver gentle heavyweight strap on the Nationwide Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England.
Gavazi was dropped by a proper hand from the 2020 Olympic silver medalist, Whittaker, virtually instantly. Whittaker backed him up with a few proper palms after which put him down with a proper to the pinnacle. It wasn’t a crushing punch. Whittaker landed it flush, and it was sufficient to place Gavazi down.
The ending knockdown got here from a left hook, adopted shortly by a proper from Whittaker that despatched Gavazi on his again. He regarded damage as he lay on the canvas like a pancake. At that time, the referee wasn’t going to waste time with a depend, and he instantly stopped the bout. The time was 2:15 in spherical one.
It was over so shortly that it was unimaginable to gauge how good Whittaker was, as his opponent, Gavazi, regarded like a step down from his earlier foe, Liam Cameron. That man was a domestic-level journeyman. Gavazi regarded like a downgrade from him. This was speculated to be a step up at school, but it surely was instantly clear that this was not an enchancment within the opponent.
After the battle, promoter Eddie Hearn repeatedly stated, “Wow,” reacting to his current Matchroom signee, Whittaker’s efficiency. He didn’t say who he would match the 28-year-old Whittaker up towards subsequent, as he’s speculated to be fast-tracking him towards a world title shot.
This week, Hearn has talked about wanting to place Whittaker in with British fighters, Joshua Buatsi and the just lately knocked out Anthony Yarde. It will be extra fascinating to see how Whittaker does towards somebody with a chin, like David Morrell. He’s older than the Cuban fighter.
“What you do with that stage is you go in and destroy them clinically, and also you produce a showroom knockout that the entire world watches for the following week. Hundreds of thousands and thousands and thousands of views watching this younger man that’s so particular,” stated Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing about Whittaker.
