ONE of the United Kingdom’s most well-known fighters, the inactivity of Ben Whittaker since his two-rounds of redemption against Liam Cameron has been underwhelming. Yet, the return of ‘The Surgeon’ is upon us and here, Boxing News suggests some names who would be appropriate for the away corner.
After a controversial draw with Cameron last October, Whittaker, 9-0-1 (6 KOs), ran it back with the South Yorkshireman this April, when he needed just two rounds to claim vengeance and score a statement stoppage win.
Five months on and it seems as though Whittaker is set to return again, with Boxxer Promoter Ben Shalom informing Ring Magazine that the Tokyo 2020 silver medallist will headline in Birmingham for a second time this year, topping a card in November.
“We are hoping, the plan is that we’ll do a headline show with him in November in Birmingham,”
“We’re currently in talks to make it happen, I will talk to his team again this week.”
With the 28-year-old expected to be involved in an intriguing scrap atop that bill, Boxing News looks at some suitable dance partners, who would either aid Whittaker’s rise in the rankings and/or grow his fan base.
Craig Richards, 19-4-1 (12 KOs)
We often speak of how the 175lb division is amongst Britain’s strongest, but most domestic light-heavyweight contenders are tied up with fights at present. However, one man who is currently without a scheduled bout is London’s Craig Richards, who challenged Dmitry Bivol for the WBA world title back in 2021.
Richards was outboxed by Willy Hutchinson on the ‘Matchroom vs Queensberry: Five versus Five’ bill last June but bounced back in impressive style when he knocked out Padraig McCrory on the Crocker-Donovan card, in his lone outing of 2025 thus far.
Richards represents an experienced opponent who is well known to British fight fans, but most would make Whittaker the favourite to overcome the 35-year-old ‘Spider’, who is currently ranked as the world #13 with the WBC.
Malik Zinad, 23-1 (17 KOs)
Another former world title challenger who could be lined up for Whittaker is Libya’s Malik Zinad, who fearlessly stepped in as a replacement for Artur Beterbiev to face Dmitry Bivol last June.
Bivol proceeded to register a first knockout win in over six years against the overmatched Zinad, but the latter provided moments of entertainment and made his name known to the world and he has since got back into the winners’ column with a stoppage triumph of his own.
Whittaker currently holds the IBF International title and may be looking to pursue that route to a world title, where either Michael Eifert or Conor Wallace is expected to claim the world title when the IBF finally strip Bivol.
At present, Zinad is ranked as the #5 contender with the IBF, eight places higher than Whittaker, and victory over the Libyan could tee up an eventual title shot at a newly crowned and less-intimidating world champion.
Radivoje Kalajdzic, 29-3 (21 KOs)
Last but not least, is yet another world title challenger in Bosnian-American Radivoje Kalajdzic, 29-3 (21 KOs), who is yet to fight since a decision defeat to David Morrell, when fighting for the WBA (Regular) belt last August.
‘Hot Rod’ is well known to the American audience, where Whittaker seems to be becoming increasingly popular. That, plus the fact that Kalajdzic has only lost to world level opposition in Artur Beterbiev, Marcus Browne and Morrell, would mean any victory for Whittaker would be a highly respected one across the pond and bode well for any U.S. debut down the line.
That being said, Kalajdzic is the most dangerous proposal of the three names suggested and although he and Whittaker’s styles would make for a fantastic fight, his lack of representation in the rankings makes him a high-risk, low reward potential opponent.
