\u201cOf course, I came very close to signing before. But I\u2019m here now, and that\u2019s the main thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think things happen for a reason. I\u2019m at the right stage in my career now to pick the right platform and go for the right fights. So this move just made sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve only had 10 fights so far \u2013 and there have been a few ups and downs in those. But I\u2019m lucky that the experience I have so far will take me far in my career.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the amateurs to Olympic medals to professional wins, I\u2019m ready for the next step and I truly feel like this is a fresh start. I can\u2019t wait to embark on this new chapter. I have a great team behind me, with Andy Lee in my corner, and I am really excited to make my debut with Matchroom Boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI first met Eddie as an amateur when I was training in Sheffield and AJ was there in the gym. We always knew this time would come and I\u2019m very happy that this moment has finally arrived to work together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful to Eddie and Frank Smith. All my family have known this is where I always wanted to be. It had to be the right time, but we\u2019re here now, I know all the team here \u2013 they are very professional \u2013 and I honestly can\u2019t wait to get started.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember being shown around [at Matchroom HQ] during Covid at Fight Camp and Eddie said then he wanted to make me a star and make me a champion. It didn\u2019t quite pan out then but we\u2019re here now, with a better haircut than I had back then, and as a better version of me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plan now remains as what it was back then. Of course, my popularity has grown and my profile has got bigger. But I think with Eddie [Hearn] and Matchroom Boxing, I will become even more of a household name and one day become a World Champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ranked well with both the IBF and WBC, so that was another reason why I wanted to come on board with Matchroom because I believe they will help navigate my path towards winning those belts at the right time. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m here for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn has described Whittaker as one his most exciting signings of all-time and is ready to help propel him to superstardom.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is phenomenal. This is the greatest signing to make in Boxing today. Ben Whittaker is a generational talent and we are ready to take his career to a whole new level,\u201d said Hearn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis long-term deal will propel Ben to global superstardom, solidifying his reputation as a household name and steering him towards future World Titles. He will be No.1. He has the world at his feet and I am beyond excited to finally be promoting this great, young man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith has heralded Whittaker\u2019s addition to his world class stable\u00a0as a \u2018game changer\u2019 and insists future glory awaits the popular 28-year-old fighter.<\/p>\n
Smith said: \u201cThis is a truly satisfying signing for Matchroom Boxing. It\u2019s a game changer\u00a0and I couldn\u2019t be happier. I have no doubt that Ben will become a World Champion. And we will do everything in our powers to promote him in the way he deserves \u2013 and the way the UK deserves too. He is a future legend of British boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cOf course, I came very close to signing before. But I\u2019m here now, and that\u2019s the main thing.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-193792","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-boxing","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}