Ben Whittaker dazzles with massive 1st-round KO in Matchroom debut
Hearn calls light heavyweight 'an absolute superstar in the making'; elsewhere, 'TKV' edges Clarke for British heavyweight title
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Light heavyweight up-and-comer Ben Whittaker’s ring walk lasted about as long as it took him to spectacularly knock out overmatched Ben Gavazi in the first round on Saturday in a Birmingham, England, homecoming fight at the National Exhibition Centre.
Expectations were sky high for Whittaker, the fast and flashy 2020 British Olympic silver medalist, to dazzle in his first fight since his deal with Boxxer and Sky Sports ended this past summer and he signed in October with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn and moved to DAZN, where he headlined against Gavazi in a scheduled 10-round WBC regional title bout.
Whittaker delivered just the kind of sensational performance and a knockout out of the year candidate Hearn had hoped for against a tailor-made opponent taking a massive step up in class.
