Ben Whittaker survives late scare to win IBF final eliminator against Conor Wallace

Ben Whittaker triumphs but struggles in the late rounds

By Tim Rickson4 Oct 2026 · Updated 1h ago · 4 min read

Ben Whittaker wins — Ben Whittaker triumphs but struggles in the late roundsMatchroom

Ben Whittaker victorious in IBF eliminator but is taken into deep waters by Conor Wallace

Ben "The Surgeon" Whittaker (13-0-1, 9 KOs) won his IBF light-heavyweight final eliminator against Irishman Conor Wallace (17-2, 12 KOs) on October 3 in Birmingham, live on DAZN.

The West Midlands fighter dominated the early moments of the fight but was taken into deep waters by the 30-year-old southpaw who had travelled 10,000 miles from Australia for his moment.

Ben Whittaker popped out his left jab in the opener, looking to find his range. Conor Wallace attempted a combination midway through the first, but found himself in the ring with a slick mover, who just slipped the shots with ease and pivoted away with style and grace.

Whittaker landed an overhand right at the start of the second, the first big punch of the fight. Wallace tried to land a big right hand back by Whittaker just slipped and moved to his left effortlessly. Then it was Whittaker's turn to trap Wallace in the corner, landing a swift one-two, but the Irishman came firing back with a series of straight shots.

At the end of the third segment, Whittaker countered a lazy jab with a left hook that grazed the top of Conor's head and momentarily made his front foot falter, so Ben piled on the pressure, but Wallace had regained his senses very quickly.

That moment of success drove Whittaker on in the fourth where he noticeably increased the pace and pressure. But then he took some time out to do a bit of showboating. Wallace sensibly skipped away.

The middle rounds saw Whittaker hunting down the Australian-based opponent, who was mostly backing up and moving out the way, often found on the ropes.

In the championship rounds Wallace begun to come back landing a heavy one-two in the 10th very accurately, which ended with Whittaker on the canvas. Wallace threw another two punches, which Ben rolled under and when they clinched, Conor pushed him down to the floor. Wallace landed another one-two seconds later and, again, Whittaker rolled under the follow-up. But, Wallace was incentivised and landed a clean jab. Whittaker backed up and rolled under about four or five efforts from Wallace, but got caught by the final two shots and had to hold on again. Whittaker came back with a big right hook in the final seconds of the stanza but it was a torrid time for the home fighter.

The West Brom boxer came back refreshed in the 11th, back on the front foot again, landing to body and head. Tony Bellew's scorecard at ringside had Whittaker winning the first nine rounds of the fight and Wallace for the two championship rounds so far.

Whittaker was getting caught a lot more in the final round and was soon down again, but referee Kieran McCann didn't rule it as a knockdown. It did appear that Ben's head was rocked back by something, but it wasn't clear if it was a punch. Split apart, Wallace wagged his tongue to the crowd to show his confidence and then they came together again and Whittaker once more went down, rugby tacking Conor's leg to take him with him. Referee McCann called a time out to give both boxers a speaking to.

It was so messy from thereon, Whittaker ducking down low and desperately holding on to Wallace, going down yet again, but not a single one was ever ruled a knockdown, bizarrely, even though he was taking shots on the way down.

Whittaker was holding on for dear life, but he managed to slip away from a Wallace attack but not dextrously as his legs seemed to be weakened underneath him. The Brummie continued to slip and roll under punches, but he was haggard and desperate to hear the final bell, constantly holding on to Conor's waist. He would slip two punches then hold on straight after. Whittaker's final act of the fight was to throw a big right hook that missed by a country mile, displaying just how tired and slow he had become.

The score of 115-113 and 116-112 showed how close the fight had ended, but the 117-111 scorecard reflected Ben's early dominance.

The full 12 rounds would have given the 29-year-old prospect a lot of experience, but the way that Whittaker fell apart in the championship rounds will motivate any future opponents to take the stylist into deep waters. A mandatory world title shot against the champion Dmitry Bivol seems like a bit of a step too far right now for the unbeaten contender.