Whittaker survives late rally from Wallace to win on points in Birmingham
Ben Whittaker defeated Conor Wallace on points in Birmingham on 3 October 2026, holding on after a furious late comeback to secure a judges' decision and move closer to a world-title opportunity. The judges scored the fight 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 in Whittaker's favour at the Utilita Arena.
Whittaker, 29, controlled large portions of the contest with his showboating and boxing skill but came under heavy pressure in the closing rounds before the final bell. The Olympic silver medallist extended his unbeaten professional record to 13 wins and one draw and became the mandatory challenger for the IBF world title. Wallace, 30, suffered the second defeat of his 19-fight career.
The bout swung in the third when Whittaker landed a right hook from the clinch that briefly staggered Wallace, and again when Wallace landed a heavy left in the sixth to signal he would not be outclassed. Trainer Andy Lee warned Whittaker in the corner to "Stay focused. Just because you're comfortable, don't get lazy," before Wallace rocked him with a thudding southpaw left in the 10th and nearly turned the contest in the 12th. Whittaker hit the canvas three times in the final round, none ruled knockdowns, as Wallace pressed for a stoppage and a possible upset.
Reflecting on the fight, Whittaker conceded he relaxed at times: "It was too easy and I took my eye off the ball a little bit. He caught me with a good shot but that's boxing." He added, "When it got a bit too easy I was playing too much and doing silly antics."
Wallace called for an immediate rematch, and Whittaker replied: "If he wants to run it back and get a beat down again he can. If not, we'll move on." The roughly 5,000-strong crowd at the arena produced mixed jeers and cheers for Whittaker's flamboyant ring entrances, which featured a live string ensemble playing The Undertaker's theme before switching to "Icon" by Karen.
Among those watching were former UFC champion Leon Edwards and Cassondra Gainey, who travelled nearly 4,000 miles from North Carolina after Whittaker's social-media videos helped lift her spirits during cancer treatment. Whittaker, who made his professional debut in July 2022 and is from nearby West Bromwich, said the evening felt like a home show despite being in Birmingham.
On the undercard, Nigeria-born Bilal Fawaz picked up his fifth stoppage win in 13 victories, with one defeat and one draw, when he stopped Eithan James in the eighth to retain his British and Commonwealth light-middleweight titles and claimed a £5,000 stoppage bonus. Fawaz, who is fighting for a British passport, called out IBF world champion Josh Kelly and Conor Benn and told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It doesn't matter who is in front of me, with the capacity of what we are trying to achieve, no one can stop us except if they are at world level."
Walsall's Hamza Uddin, 23, recorded his eighth straight win by dominating Sean Bruce, dropping him twice in the fifth and finishing the fight in the ninth with a heavy right as Bruce rose at the count of nine before the referee intervened. In the chief support, 22-year-old Odel Kamara made a successful professional debut by dominating Thodoris Ritzakis, dropping the Greek in the first before a third-round stoppage that promoter Eddie Hearn described as somewhat premature: "Liverpool has a star. Britain has got a star. This kid is going all the way."
Whittaker's victory makes him the mandatory challenger to IBF champion Dmitry Bivol, who also holds the WBA 'super' and WBO belts and is expected to face Callum Smith in December; promoter Eddie Hearn said: "We know Ben is in the position to fight the winner of Bivol-Smith but it's likely that won't be until next summer, so he needs to fight in the interim."