ABOUT THIS EPISODE
How To Watch: Saturday, 11 AM PST on DAZN
How good is Ben Whittaker? It is obvious he is good, but his arrogance will always make people want to see him humbled.
The 2020 British Olympian, Whittaker, will take his first step-up bout against Conor Wallace, a solid Australian fighter, with the IBF light heavyweight No. 1 contender spot on the line. Wallace has a loss from five years ago to Leti Leti via majority decision, and has rebuilt to this point.
It is, in theory, the most competitive fight Whittaker has been in since his two fights with Liam Cameron. For such a promising fighter, Whittaker’s career has moved very slowly. The hope is, if, he were to win, that sets up a big fight in the future.
On the undercard:
Junior middleweight Odel Kamara recently signed with Matchroom and will turn pro on the card.
Junior middleweight Bilal Fawaz will continue his good fortune as he faces Eithan James. Fawaz is one of the feel-good stories in boxing, but the question is: can he compete at a world level?
Junior lightweight Ibraheem Sulaimaan will face unbeaten Sonny Hardy, and junior lightweight Adam Maca is worth following.
Other notable bouts:
Omari Jones, the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist, will face Northern California veteran Alan Sanchez. The bout will be on DAZN on Friday night. Jones is a very promising fighter who has faced some blowback for being more of a finesse fighter than a power puncher. Sanchez is a tricky vet who will face Jones in Jones’ hometown of Orlando, Florida. Also, on the card, middleweight Donte Layne will be featured in an eight-round fight, and Cuban super middleweight Ronny Alvarez returns for the third time this year.
Red Owl Boxing has a show on DAZN, also on Friday night. The notable fighters are junior lightweight Deonte Brown will be in an eight-round bout, women’s junior bantamweight Naomy Cardenas will face unbeaten Melanie Timko, Oakland, California super middleweight Kumar Prescod will be featured, featherweight Jeremy Adorno will face unbeaten Ever Moises Rodriguez and women’s junior middleweight Ariana Carrasco will fight for the fourth time as a pro.
