Ben Whittaker beats Conor Wallace: late scare in 12th round

Whittaker beats Wallace, but survives a late scare: down three times in the 12th round

Ben Whittaker defeats Conor Wallace on points after twelve rounds at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham and wins the final IBF light heavyweight eliminator, while also retaining the WBC Silver title. But what looked set to be a relatively comfortable victory turned into a real battle in the closing minutes just to make it to the final bell.

The judges awarded the British fighter a unanimous decision: 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. Overall, it was an understandable result based on what happened over the course of the fight, especially considering the lead Whittaker had built up over the first nine rounds, but the ending inevitably left plenty of room for debate.

Whittaker started by doing what he does best: controlling the distance, moving constantly, landing quickly and forcing Wallace to chase him. Jabs to the body and head, reflexes, angle changes and even a few moments of his usual showboating defined the first part of the fight, during which Wallace, despite not taking particularly heavy damage, was almost never able to impose his own boxing.

The Northern Irishman from Newry, who has been based in Brisbane, Australia for years, a southpaw and physically very solid, did however deserve credit for one thing: he never dropped out of the fight.

And in the tenth round, something changed.

Wallace finally began finding Whittaker with the straight left while simultaneously increasing the pressure. The Briton, who had been extremely mobile up to that point, started to look less sharp on his feet and much easier to reach.

In the closing stages, Whittaker's advantage began to shrink, but it was above all the twelfth round that completely changed the perception of the fight.

A final round that will spark debate

Wallace caught Whittaker almost immediately with the left hand and from that moment on, the Briton found himself mainly trying to survive.

Whittaker repeatedly looked for the clinch, appeared to be in obvious trouble and touched the canvas three times during the round. Referee Kieran McCann, however, did not count any of the three incidents as knockdowns.

Not all of them can necessarily be interpreted in the same way.

On at least one occasion, Whittaker, while trying to tie up his opponent, ended up on the floor and dragged Wallace down with him. In other situations, the line between a loss of balance, a clinch and a fall caused by the Northern Irishman's offensive action is much more debatable.

Still, it is difficult to watch that final round without having at least some doubts.

Whittaker was in serious trouble, Wallace kept attacking and at least one of the falls could have resulted in a count. Refereeing that inevitably fuelled debate after the fight.

Wallace will probably have one major regret above all: he came alive too late.

For much of the fight, he allowed Whittaker to control the action without taking enough risks. When he finally increased the pressure and volume, he showed that the Briton could be put in serious difficulty.

But against an opponent who had already built such a wide lead on the scorecards, the late surge was not enough.

Whittaker wins, but new doubts emerge

The victory takes Whittaker's record to 13 wins, no losses and one draw (13-0-1, 9 KOs), while Wallace falls to 17-2.

On paper, it is the biggest result of the Briton's professional career: Whittaker has completed the full twelve-round distance for the first time and, more importantly, won an IBF world title eliminator that puts him in position for a future challenge against the champion.

Paradoxically, however, the fight may have raised more questions than answers.

For nine rounds, Whittaker once again showed that he is a technically gifted boxer, difficult to read and capable of boxing with great natural ability when he is able to keep the fight at his own pace.

When Wallace managed to turn it into a more physical fight, increase the pressure and force him to work while fatigued, the picture changed dramatically.

His trainer Andy Lee revealed after the fight that Whittaker had suffered from Covid around a week before the bout, something that could partly explain his physical collapse in the closing stages.

A plausible explanation, but one that does not erase what happened in the ring.

Whittaker himself, however, avoided using the illness as an excuse, admitting instead that he lost concentration after finding the fight too easy in the early stages.

Eddie Hearn also acknowledged just how critical the situation became in the final minutes, describing Whittaker as practically hanging on to the fight just to make it to the end.

Despite the victory and the position he has earned in the IBF rankings, Whittaker immediately opened the door to facing Wallace again.

And perhaps that would not be a bad idea.

Before putting Whittaker in front of the best light heavyweights in the world, a second fight against Wallace could say far more about the Briton's true level than the nine relatively comfortable rounds seen on Saturday night.

Whittaker won the fight.

But Wallace, in the closing stages and especially during those dramatic final three minutes, showed that the “Surgeon” can be put under serious pressure.