Carl Froch has considered whether Ben Whittaker is ready to face Dmitry Bivol following his unanimous decision victory over Conor Wallace last weekend.
‘The Surgeon’ dominated his first nine rounds against Wallace, making the most of advantages in speed and ring IQ to build a sizable lead on the judges’ scorecards.
In round 10, however, Wallace began piling on the pressure and seemed to get a reaction out of Whittaker, who was now lacking his usual sharpness and elusiveness.
The 29-year-old then showcased his survival instincts in round 12, when at least one of his three trips to the canvas could have been ruled a knockdown.
Ultimately, though, Whittaker was able to ride out the storm and, by winning his IBF final eliminator, will soon be named as the mandatory challenger to Bivol.
First, the unified light-heavyweight champion must defend his IBF, WBO and WBA belts against Callum Smith, who he is expected to face on December 12 in Russia.
If he emerges victorious, the Russian is then likely to target fights against former rival Artur Beterbiev or David Benavidez, but would also be ordered to defend his IBF strap against Whittaker.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, however, Hall of Famer Froch suggested the Brit is nowhere near Bivol’s level.
“If he wants to step up to world level, there’ll be people looking at this [his fight with Wallace] – people like Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, if he’s still fighting – and they’ll be laughing at this.
“Not in a bad way – they’ll just be saying, ‘Right, okay. Easy night’s work’. Ben Whittaker’s not ready to step up to that level. You wouldn’t give Ben Whittaker a cat in hell’s chance against someone like Dmitry Bivol.”
While he now holds a desirable position with the IBF, Whittaker did express an openness to rematching Wallace before pursuing a world title shot.
