Ben Whittaker Teases Heavyweight Future, Dreams of Benavidez Fight

Ben Whittaker has a plan, and it ends about three weight classes north of where he is now. The 29-year-old Brit, 12-0-1 with 9 KOs, told media this week he sees himself eventually following James Toney up the scale — all the way to heavyweight, where a clash with David Benavidez sits as a long-term fantasy. First, though, he has to win on Saturday.

That's the sober part. Whittaker fights Conor Wallace over 12 rounds at Birmingham's Utilita Arena this weekend, with the IBF's No. 1 contender spot at light heavyweight on the line. He's currently ranked #10 in the division, and this is comfortably the toughest test of a pro career that's only just cleared four years.

The Toney Blueprint

The heavyweight talk isn't idle. Whittaker name-checked Toney specifically — the American who won his first world title at 160lbs in the early '90s, famously confessed a weakness for Burger King, and eventually became a three-division champion while ballooning up through the weights. Whittaker leaned into the bit, joking about the size of his dad and promising it'll be "Burger King, baby" once his light-heavyweight business is done.

The caveat he added was sharper than the gag. Toney's crowning heavyweight moment — a 2005 decision over John Ruiz for the WBA belt — was wiped out to a no-contest after a failed drug test. Whittaker says he intends to make the climb while staying on the clean side of the sport. For now he wants to dominate 175 before thinking about anything heavier, let alone Benavidez, who at 32-0 (26 KO) currently holds the WBO and WBC cruiserweight straps after stopping Gilberto Ramírez in six.

From Drunken Master to Surgeon

Whittaker reckons his trajectory is landing right on schedule, injuries and a promotional move from Boxxer to Matchroom notwithstanding. Under head coach Andy Lee, he describes a stylistic shift from the flashy "Drunken Master" — the Jackie Chan reference he's leaned on before — to something colder he calls "The Surgeon." His last outing backs it up: a second-round stoppage of Richard Rivera that looked a lot more like clinical dismantling than showboating.

He's not shy about his standing within his own generation, either. Whittaker figures he's among the most talked-about fighters from Britain's Tokyo 2020 crop, and said becoming world champion would let him rub it in gold medallist Galal Yafai's face — delivered with enough of a grin to soften the shade. The Olympic silver medallist is confident, no question. But Wallace is a genuine step up, and a heavyweight daydream only stays alive if the man in front of him goes down first.