BEN WHITTAKER will announce his new trainer in ‘the next couple of weeks’ amid links with Andy Lee.
The Surgeon is set to face Liam Cameron in a rematch on April 20 and will do so under the tutelage of a new head coach.
Whittaker worked with Sugar Hill Steward for the first six fights of his career but split with the American, who is the nephew of Emanuel Steward, in March last year.
Since then he has been back with his amateur coach and godfather Joby Clayton but he is now set to appoint a new head coach.
It is understood that Dublin-based Lee, who was trained by both Emanuel and Sugar Hill Steward himself during his world title winning career, has emerged as an option for Whittaker.
Lee is one of the most respected boxing voices in the game and has been at the heart of Joseph Parker’s run to another world heavyweight title shot while also guiding welterweight contender Paddy Donovan, among others.
Whittaker was not able to confirm a link up with the Irishman when he spoke to Boxing News in London on Thursday. One of his management team did however reveal that an announcement would be made before the end of the month.
When asked why a new trainer is important for him at this stage of his career, the light-heavyweight said: “A new voice, new ears, new eyes, all of that stuff really.
“Just someone who can critique you differently and see things that other people haven’t seen before.
“I’m a perfectionist. Yes I do the showboating and stuff but I love boxing, it’s my life, it has given me a life and it has helped me provide.
“I want to get better if I can, I want to improve and these are things I need to do.”
It is likely that a move to Lee would involve a switch to Dublin for training camps, although the 40-year-old has also spent time coaching in Morecambe and Saudi Arabia alongside Tyson Fury.
Whittaker added: “Before, I was nice and cosy, I was at home with my amateur coach [Clayton].
“Who knows, he could still be there, he could be the second or something, but I was just trying to keep it too homely.
“But now I need to do something to be outside my comfort zone and that’s the position I’m in now.”
