Whittaker and Wallace set for IBF eliminator in Birmingham

Ben Whittaker was scheduled to face Conor Wallace in an IBF light-heavyweight final eliminator on Saturday, October 3, at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, with the winner set to advance toward a mandatory-challenger position, according to promoter Matchroom. The available reports were published before the bout and do not establish whether it took place or who won. The eliminator offers both fighters a route toward a world-title opportunity. Matchroom said the winner would become mandatory challenger to the winner of a planned December fight between Dmitry Bivol and Callum Smith. That arrangement remains dependent on the scheduled fights and their results; neither Whittaker nor Wallace is reported to have secured the position yet. Whittaker, a 29-year-old Olympic silver medallist from the West Midlands, entered the contest after a run of professional knockout wins. Wallace, from Newry in Northern Ireland, is an IBF-ranked light-heavyweight who began his professional career in Australia. The bout was scheduled for 12 rounds, making it a potentially longer test than Whittaker’s recent fights, according to pre-fight coverage.