Benjamin Whittaker
British boxer (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benjamin G. Whittaker (born 6 June 1997),[2] is a British professional boxer who has held the IBF International light-heavyweight title since June 2024. As an amateur, he won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He turned professional in 2022.
Ben Whittaker in 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 6 June 1997 Bilston, Wolverhampton, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | Light-heavyweight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reach | 75 in (191 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Win by KO | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draws | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
Whittaker was born to an English-Austrian mother and a Jamaican father.[3]
Amateur career
In 2018, he was picked to represent England in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which took place in Australia's Gold Coast.[4]
In 2019, he was selected to compete at the World Championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia,[5] where he won the bronze medal after losing by unanimous decision to Dilshodbek Ruzmetov in the semi-finals.[6]
In 2021, at the men's light-heavyweight category at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Whittaker won the silver medal against Arlen Lopez, who won gold.
His amateur record stands at 53–13.
Professional career
In 2022 he signed a professional deal with Boxxer, training with SugarHill Steward.[7][8]
On 3 February 2024 at Wembley Arena in London, Whittaker defeated Khalid Graidia via fifth round technical knockout.[9]
On 31 March 2024, Whittaker fought at The O2 Arena in London on the undercard of a British heavyweight title fight between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke, defeating Leon Willings via unanimous decision.[10][11]
On 15 June 2024, Whittaker won the IBF International light-heavyweight title after defeating 12–0 Ezra Arenyeka by unanimous decision.[12][13]
On 12 October 2024, Whittaker made his first defence of his IBF International light-heavyweight title against Liam Cameron on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol. During the bout both boxers became entangled as Whittaker pulled Cameron towards the ropes, resulting in their tumbling over and Whittaker being forced to withdraw due to an injury. The fight subsequently went to the judges' scorecards, as per the rules of the British Boxing Board of Control, with both boxers receiving a 58–57 score respectively as well as a 58–58 score, resulting in a split decision technical draw.[14]
Whittaker faced Cameron in a rematch in Birmingham on 20 April 2025.[15] He won by stoppage in the second round.[16][17]
In October 2025, he signed a long-term contract with Eddie Hearn led Matchroom Boxing.[18]. A month later on 29 November, Whittaker stopped Benjamin Gavazi in the first round of their fight at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham to win the vacant WBC Silver light-heavyweight title.[19][20]
Professional boxing record
| 11 fights | 10 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 7 | 0 |
| By decision | 3 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Win | 10–0–1 | Benjamin Gavazi | KO | 1 (10), 2:15 | 29 Nov 2025 | National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England | Won vacant WBC Silver light-heavyweight title |
| 10 | Win | 9–0–1 | Liam Cameron | TKO | 2 (10), 1:53 | 20 Apr 2025 | bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, England | |
| 9 | Draw | 8–0–1 | Liam Cameron | TD | 5 (10), 3:00 | 12 Oct 2024 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Retained IBF International light-heavyweight title; For vacant WBO Global light-heavyweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Eworitse Ezra Arenyeka | UD | 10 | 15 Jun 2024 | Selhurst Park, London, England | Won vacant IBF International light-heavyweight title |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Leon Willings | PTS | 8 | 31 Mar 2024 | The O2 Arena, London, England | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Khalid Graidia | TKO | 5 (8), 1:57 | 3 Feb 2024 | OVO Arena, London, England | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Stiven Dredhaj | KO | 4 (8), 0:54 | 10 Dec 2023 | Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Vladimir Belujsky | TKO | 8 (8), 1:49 | 1 July 2023 | Manchester Arena, Manchester, England | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jordan Grant | TKO | 3 (6), 0:13 | 6 May 2023 | Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Petar Nosic | UD | 6 | 20 Aug 2022 | Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Greg O'Neil | KO | 2 (6), 0:21 | 30 Jul 2022 | Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England |
Notes
- Also designated as the 2019 men's European Championships
