Anthony Yarde wants to test Ben Whittaker

Anthony Yarde could give Ben Whittaker his toughest test yet.

Ben Whittaker has been challenged to a fight against a light heavyweight at the highest level. He himself is an Olympic silver medalist and turned pro amid a lot of hype and attention. So far, he’s been toying with his fans a bit, as he often comes across as arrogant. Ben Whittaker often starts fighting more for the show and begins to toy with other fighters who are often two weight classes below him.

There have already been fights where this nearly cost him dearly, but so far, things have always worked out for him. This year, he has fought twice and won both by knockout within the first two rounds. He is currently the WBC Silver light heavyweight champion. Now, however, a fighter has challenged him, and this fight could turn out to be much more interesting.

In an interview with talkSPORT, trainer Tunde Ajayi explained that his protégé Anthony Yarde would be open to a fight against Ben Whittaker.

“We've spoken to Frank Smith, they told us he wasn’t going to be ready until early next year. Ben is on his trajectory now. I always say people try to build their name off Anthony Yarde, and I don’t want Ben to be another Joshua Buatsi where your whole career is built off us and you still don’t fight for a world title. We want to see that fight, Anthony Yarde against Joshua Buatsi, but we want to see Anthony Yarde against, I’m not going to say the young up-and-comer because he's 29, 30 years old- but Ant would relish a fight against [Whittaker] if the opportunity arose”

he said.

Ben Whittaker has now reached a point where he definitely needs to prove himself against established opponents. Anthony Yarde could be just the right match for him.

He has a high knockout rate and is known for it. He has a record of 27-4-0, including 24 knockouts. He has already fought in three world title bouts. In each of these fights, he definitely lived up to his reputation, even though he ultimately lost them all. He has also been the European light heavyweight champion. So he would be a very good option to put Ben Whittaker to the test. It remains to be seen whether this opportunity will actually arise next year.

In my opinion, that would be exactly the fight Ben Whittaker needs right now. Anthony Yarde has the experience and poses a clear threat. It would definitely prove whether Ben Whittaker is ready to box at a higher level.