Liam Smith Questions Ben Whittaker Under Sustained Pressure

Menu Results Schedule Rankings Videos Tickets Forum Contact Us Menu Rankings Schedule Results Boxing Live Liam Smith Questions Ben Whittaker Under Sustained Pressure Google News Preferred Source By Boxing News 24 Desk - 10/02/2026 - Comments Liam Smith believes Ben Whittaker’s talent could take him to a world title, but questions how his style holds up against an opponent who keeps pressing after the early rounds. Ahead of the Conor Wallace fight, that remains an unanswered question about the 29-year-old.

Whittaker has been matched cautiously for someone with an Olympic silver medal and extensive amateur experience. His professional opposition has given him opportunities to display his reflexes, but little evidence of how those skills survive sustained pressure from a world-class light heavyweight.

“It’s difficult to win a round against Ben Whittaker fresh and sharp,” said Liam Smith during the panel discussion. “But a 12-round fight, they’re not the same fighters in the back half, the back six. To kind of get to fighters like that, you’ve got to be able to still have the mindset, ‘I’m going to be down after four or five rounds, but then it’s my type of fight.’”