Eddie Hearn could not hide his delight when capturing the signature of Ben Whittaker last week as he bolstered his stable with the high profile signing.
The Matchroom boss has long been an admirer of the Olympic star, and he has previously made it clear that he wanted to sign Whittaker after he secured a silver medal at the 2020 Olympics.
Instead, Whittaker signed with Ben Shalom’s Boxxer and they have guided his career since he turned professional in 2022.
In an immediate rematch in May, Whittaker, trained by Andy Lee after relocating to Dublin following the first encounter, proved his class with a destructive second round stoppage.
Whittaker is expected to make his Matchroom bow before the end of 2025, but Hearn is already looking ahead for his latest acquisition.
Fully aware that the business end of the light-heavyweight division is stacked with major threats, Hearn is looking closer to home as he plots the strategy for Whittaker's climb to the top.
“Maybe a fight with Willy Hutchinson in the first quarter of 2026,” said Hearn when speaking exclusively to DAZN News regarding the plans of Whittaker.
“I really need about nine months with Ben just to get that momentum, get him confident, build him globally before we start looking at the elite names.
“The momentum he had originally was unbelievable when Boxxer first started and he was fighting regularly, but then he just slowed down. We’ve got to get him back to looking a million dollars.”
Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley fight on Saturday, October 25, to become the WBO mandatory challenger to Oleksandr Usyk. Watch the fight and undercard live and exclusive on DAZN PPV.