Whittaker vs Gavazi Predictions: A new beginning for the exciting Olympian

Ben Whittaker makes his Matchroom debut this Saturday, November 29 as he takes on Benjamin Gavazi. The light heavyweight contest headlines at the Birmingham NEC Arena. DAZN will broadcast the event live, with Cameron Vuong’s rematch with Gavin Gwynne and the second boxing outing of ex-UFC star Molly McCann on the undercard.

Read on for my Whittaker vs Ghazavzi predictions.

Whittaker vs Gavazi Odds

Whittaker is priced at a mammoth 1/33 to score the victory here. Gavazi is 12/1 which tells you all you need to know. The draw is priced at 22/1.

Whittaker vs Gavazi Fight Preview

If you fight like Benjamin Whittaker, you are going to be a lighting rod for the good and the bad of pugilistic criticism. Dazzle with your hands down and your nose upturned and riches await. As Chris Eubank, Prince Naseem Hamed and Roy Jones Jr. But if you fight with contempt for your opponent, you will be treated with such by a British public that has often favoured the humble over the transcendent.

Whittaker looks great on a highlight reel. A good-looking kid with a devout faith in God, his reality clashes uneasily with his boxing personality. Inside those ropes, Whittaker is artist over artisan. Why block when the chiseled upper-body can do the work? Why bite down on the gum-shield and swing when a deft whip and a well placed shot can make the most determined warrior stumble in your wake?

Britain is slow to accept such impetuous brilliance. Only when it is enshrined, when it is bronzed, when it is no longer a threat, will the rank-and-file acknowledge the genius of the defied convention. The same people who mourn for Prince Nas and Eubank Senior’s passing into history scoff when an heir emerges.

It has not been a smooth road. Liam Cameron appeared to confirm conservative suspicions about Whittaker when they met in Riyadh last year. An unfortunate tumble through the ropes and a technical draw on the scorecards gave the naysayers sweet salve. The scornful were rewarded and responded in absolutes. Cameron would have beaten Whittaerk, they said. Liam had worked out the future superstar and the genie would not be returning to the bottle.

Headlining this very venue in spring of this year, Whittaker finished Cameron in two rounds. They called the stoppage premature. I was sat behind the ringpost where referee Howard Foster stepped in. Cameron would not, could not, end the shellacking he received. Point made, Benjamin.

Whittaker has swapped BOXXER for Matchroom and promoter Eddie Hearn could not be happier to have the precocious puncher under his purview. Speaking to me this week, the promoter said, “From a promotional point of view, this guy is golden. He gets everything, he looks a million dollars. He’s exciting”.

Gavazi has not figured much in this preview because I do not believe the German will figure much in the fight. During Thursday’s press conference, the 19-1 visitor seemed to be trying to convince himself he could beat Whittaker, rather than the assembled newsmen and Twitterati. Gavazi has only beaten four men who had winning records at the time he faced them. That loss on debut does not bode well either.

But that much is by design. Ultimately, this debut is an opportunity to show off the new Matchroom man. Hearn will want his latest acquisition to look good. And he will. Gavazi asserted this week that Whittaker doesn’t showboat against top fighters. Let’s just say I expect him to showboat against Gavazi.

Whittaker vs Gavazi Full Card

Ben Whittaker vs Benjamin Gavazi

Cameron Vuong vs Gavin Gwynne

Aaron Bowen vs Tom Cowling

Ibraheem Sulaimaan vs Nico Ogbeide

Zelfa Barrett vs Liam Dillon

Molly McCann vs Ebonie Cotton

Alfie Middlemiss vs Engel Gomez

Whittaker vs Gavazi Prediction

Whittaker inside the distance. There’s no dressing this up. That loss to Rostam Ibrahim shows vulnerability in Gavazi. Whittaker’s improvisational style has been buttressed by the work of expert trainer Andy Lee. There’s a bit more brute force to his work now. Whittaker sat down on his shots against Cameron. He came to win, rather than have fun. 

Whittaker won’t take this lightly, but he also won’t hang around. I think the stylistic flourishes will create the opening. The ruthlessness Lee has honed will see him take it. Whittaker by knockout is 1/3 but I can see him pulling it off in rounds 4-6 at 2/1.

Image Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

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