Ben Whittaker brought his rivalry with Liam Cameron to a conclusive finish in April and the Olympic silver medallist has an array of options for his next fight.
Promoter Frank Warren has a roster of light-heavyweights in his stable including Willie Hutchinson, Lewis Edmondson and Ezra Taylor. Warren would pit any of them against Whittaker but the first name he volunteered was former world title challenger Anthony Yarde.
“Anthony’s back in the mix now. It’s exciting times in that light-heavyweight division. I love to see some of my guys in with Ben Whittaker,” Warren told Sky Sports.
“Josh Buatsi’s there as well. He’s still there. There are some great fights to be made in that division.”
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Anthony Yarde battled past a tough Lyndon Arthur to seal victory in two of their three meetings
Callum Simpson, the new European super-middleweight champion, could be a surprise entrant to the light-heavyweight division if he moves up to seek out a fight with Whittaker.
George Groves, a former WBA super-middleweight world champion, told Sky Sports: “[Simpson] is primed to go in with a decent name and build a pay-per-view fight because he’s got such a following locally within Barnsley and I think that expands from there.
“If he was in with a Ben Whittaker, who is super-famous online and does massive numbers and is very commercial, with a local hometown boy who’s got tremendous support and an exciting style of fighting to watch, that could be a route for him to maybe get into a massive fight.”
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Highlights from a thriller at Oakwell as hometown hero Callum Simpson stopped Ivan Zucco in round 10 to claim the European super middleweight title
Though Groves does see the potential for Simpson to move into world class at 168lbs.
“Matched right and accordingly, and if he can make some improvements I think he’s certainly capable of being in there and among it,” Groves said. “I’d like to see him go back to the drawing board and improve across the board in many ways if he’s going to crack on at the top level.
“You’re talking about him moving out of his division chasing fights, I don’t like that. If you’re super-middleweight, try your best [there]. But he’s huge for the weight, or so he seems. If he’s going to end up at light-heavyweight one day, then maybe do it sooner rather than later.”
