![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/55338_1360340_updates.jpg\")
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An undated picture of\u00a0British light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker. \u2014 Instagram\/\u00a0benwhittaker<\/p>\n
British light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker delivered a stunning first-round knockout victory over Argentina\u2019s Braian Suarez here at Liverpool\u2019s M&S Bank Arena, extending his professional record to 11-0-1 and further strengthening his rise in the division.<\/p>\n
The event was originally scheduled to be headlined by Liverpool\u2019s Callum Smith, who withdrew from his light-heavyweight title eliminator against Cuba\u2019s David Morrell. <\/p>\n
Whittaker was promoted to top billing for the second time in succession. The late change in the main event contributed to a noticeable number of empty seats on fight night.<\/p>\n
Despite the subdued atmosphere, the 28-year-old showcased his trademark flair against Suarez, 34, who had suffered five defeats in 26 bouts. <\/p>\n
Whittaker controlled the opening exchanges before unleashing a powerful right hook that sent Suarez to the canvas. He could not beat the referee\u2019s ten-count, ending the contest in the first round.<\/p>\n
The emphatic finish marked another statement following stoppage wins over Benjamin Gavazi and Liam Cameron. <\/p>\n
Promoter Eddie Hearn has urged caution over Whittaker\u2019s progression, with fans calling for tougher domestic opposition as he edges closer to a potential world title shot in the light-heavyweight division. Speaking afterwards, Whittaker said he had expected a longer fight but adapted to finish early.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, former UFC fighter Molly McCann delighted the home crowd as she was walked to the ring by Liverpool musician Jamie Webster. McCann secured a unanimous points win over Wales\u2019 Ashleigh Johnson, improving her professional boxing record to 4-0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An undated picture of\u00a0British light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker. \u2014 Instagram\/\u00a0benwhittaker British light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker delivered a stunning first-round knockout…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,122410,802,299314,299315,1613,166279,85],"class_list":["post-617040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ben-whittaker","tag-boxing","tag-braian-suarez","tag-jamie-webster","tag-liverpool","tag-mccann","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617040","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=617040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}