{"id":787154,"date":"2026-09-30T06:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T06:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/787154\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T06:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T06:26:10","slug":"ben-whittaker-welcomes-dana-white-at-ringside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/787154\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Whittaker Welcomes Dana White At Ringside"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Whittaker sounds excited about Dana White potentially watching him fight Conor Wallace on Saturday. For Eddie Hearn, the uncomfortable part is hearing a fighter he has promoted as a generational talent publicly welcome a rival promoter\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n<p>White\u2019s attendance remains unconfirmed, and Whittaker\u2019s remaining Matchroom commitments are unclear. Even so, his enthusiasm gives Hearn something to think about ahead of the IBF light heavyweight final eliminator in Birmingham.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been invited to many shows, but I think if I go there, I\u2019ll get in trouble,\u201d Whittaker told Ariel Helwani. \u201cThey\u2019re coming to me, by the looks of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether he wanted White ringside, Whittaker replied: \u201cYeah, we\u2019ll give him a nice little royalty seat. It\u2019s only right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That is a warm reception from someone whose current promoter is publicly trading shots with White. Whittaker also praised Zuffa for giving fighters opportunities. He appears comfortable appreciating Matchroom\u2019s work while letting its rival know the interest is welcome.<\/p>\n<p>Losing Whittaker would sting differently from losing Conor Benn. The argument rests on Whittaker\u2019s potential to win a world title and establish himself at the top of his division. Hearn has talked glowingly about that promise. Watching White inherit it before Whittaker reaches his ceiling would be painful.<\/p>\n<p>At 29, Whittaker still has to deliver on those expectations. Wallace represents an important step, and Matchroom has provided the opportunity. A victory would strengthen his position with his existing promoter and anyone else watching.<\/p>\n<p>There is no established departure here. Later in the program, Helwani said he had received a message that Whittaker holds a long-term Matchroom contract. Whittaker also praised the company\u2019s promotion and activity.<\/p>\n<p>Still, his qualification was interesting: he was happy \u201cright now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hearn has invested in selling Whittaker\u2019s future. Whittaker welcoming White ringside raises the uncomfortable question of who eventually gets to promote the best years of it.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Youtube video\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" nopin=\"nopin\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790749570_839_hqdefault.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Share this article<\/p>\n<p>About the authorBoxing News 24 Desk<\/p>\n<p>BoxingNews24.com has delivered independent boxing coverage since 2007, including original news, fight analysis, schedules, and results. Our experienced boxing writers cover major fighters and events worldwide, with published content reviewed by editors for accuracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Whittaker sounds excited about Dana White potentially watching him fight Conor Wallace on Saturday. For Eddie Hearn,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-787154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}