BEN WHITTAKER: GLOBAL STARDOM AWAITS
In what was set to be Callum Smith’s homecoming against David Morrell Jr, Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker will now headline his second show on the bounce against the Argentine, Braian Suárez.
This isn’t just any other main event though; this is a man who, since turning professional in 2022, has taken the boxing world by storm.
Love him or loathe him, Ben Whittaker is a man who, in a few years, could well be the biggest name in boxing and, along with previewing his fight with Suárez, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the facts and figures behind Whittaker’s gradual rise to boxing stardom.
Let’s start there then.
With a following of 3,791,681 on Instagram alone, Whittaker is the 11th most-followed professional boxer on the platform, with more followers than the likes of Oleksandr Usyk, Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue—the three best boxers on the planet right now—and the 10-0-1 Ben Whittaker of Wolverhampton has a bigger following.
One of the biggest signs of Whittaker’s future stardom is comparing his last fight to Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul.
On Matchroom Boxing’s Instagram, Whittaker’s knockout of the relatively unknown Benjamin Gavazi got the same number of views as the clip of Joshua’s knockout of Jake Paul on the same page.
Even more damning is the fact that Whittaker’s knockout achieved more likes and was reposted over 12,300 times, compared to the 1,558 times Joshua’s knockout was reposted, and it was shared over 58,000 times compared to the 6,813 people who shared Joshua’s knockout of the YouTuber-turned-professional boxer.
A quite remarkable statistic.
There is no doubt that, at the moment, Whittaker isn’t on the same level as AJ in terms of global stardom, but pulling in numbers like he does this early in his career—having not really fought anyone of note—suggests that he could well go on to be a bigger star than Joshua is now.
With nearly two million followers on TikTok, Whittaker’s flamboyance both inside and outside of the ring may not be to everyone’s taste but, even if it isn’t, there’s one thing for sure: you’re going to tune into his fights or watch his content on social media.
As well as having endless potential as a boxer, he’s an intelligent young man who will go on to do equally incredible things when he does decide to step away from boxing.
The whole “Show Me The Money” scene from Jerry Maguire that he remade to announce his new deal with Matchroom—that was all his idea—and with Eddie Hearn now promoting him, the ceiling for Whittaker’s profile as both a boxer and an entertainer is honestly sky-high.
Outstanding inside and outside of the ring, it’s a rarity to find a fighter who can do both, so when you do—as we have with Whittaker—you need to embrace it and just enjoy watching him grow and improve.
He’s set to make his US debut on the Ennis vs Zayas card in June and he’s the sort of fighter that American fans crave: charismatic, great on the mic, supremely talented in the ring, a bit of a show-off and outspoken outside of it.
For some reason, the British public seem to be hit and miss on those sorts of fighters, but if he makes a big impression in the States, his train to global stardom will only accelerate.
This isn’t just some random YouTuber who’s built a big social following and is now trying their hand at boxing, this is a supremely talented boxer, an Olympic silver medalist, who has strategically built his profile all on his own so, whatever you do, fasten your seatbelts, because this young man really could be one of the biggest superstars this crazy sport has ever seen.
Now to his fight this weekend with Argentine Braian Suárez, and it’s a great piece of matchmaking at this stage of Whittaker’s career.
No, Suárez isn’t a huge name, but he’s a fighter who will ask questions of Whittaker.
From his 21 career victories to date, he’s won 20 of those by knockout, so his punching power is evident.
Whittaker will need to be switched on from the first bell, because if he isn’t and he gets tagged, he could well find himself in a heap of trouble.
His four defeats have all come against solid opposition, so this isn’t an opponent Whittaker can take lightly, but it’s certainly one he should deal with fairly comfortably and look good whilst doing so.
Lyndon Arthur climbed off the deck to stop Suárez inside 10 rounds, and if he gets past Lewis Edmondson in June, that’s certainly a fight that would make sense for Whittaker in the autumn, so the Suárez fight will be more than a good enough measuring stick to see just where the Wolverhampton man is at.
Whether you’ve been convinced that he’s a future star of boxing or not, he’ll be well worth keeping a close eye on this Saturday night—and for the rest of his career.