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Ben Whittaker v Conor Wallace
Saturday, 3 October 2026
View EventBen Whittaker vs Conor Wallace: the Birmingham eliminator, 3 October 2026
Ben Whittaker fights Conor Wallace at Utilita Arena Birmingham on Saturday 3 October 2026, doors 16:00. It is a 12-round IBF World Light Heavyweight final eliminator, and the winner becomes mandatory challenger to Dmitry Bivol. It is the biggest fight of Whittaker's career. The matchup is a question of styles: Whittaker's last four bouts have all ended inside two rounds, and Wallace is a southpaw with five more professional bouts behind him. The card is on DAZN.
This page previously previewed Ben Whittaker's November 2025 fight with Benjamin Gavazi.
How the two men match up
Ben Whittaker, who boxes as “The Surgeon”, goes in at 12-0-1, with his last four bouts all ending inside two rounds. The most recent of them was Richard Rivera, stopped in the second round in New York on 27 June 2026. Conor Wallace is 17-1 with 12 knockouts across five more professional bouts, so the more experienced man is the one British fans know less about. Wallace is also a southpaw. That is the fight in a sentence: Whittaker boxes orthodox, and his movement and timing are now set against a left-handed stance that reverses every angle he is used to reading.
What is a final eliminator in boxing?
A final eliminator is a fight that decides who gets the next shot at a world champion, not a fight for the belt itself. Ben Whittaker against Conor Wallace at Utilita Arena Birmingham on Saturday 3 October 2026 is a final eliminator for the IBF World Light Heavyweight Title, scheduled for 12 rounds. No belt changes hands in Birmingham. What changes is which of the two men is next in line.
The bout was confirmed in July 2026, and it is the fight Whittaker has been building towards since his Olympic silver medal at the 2020 Games.
What does the Whittaker v Wallace winner get?
The winner of Ben Whittaker against Conor Wallace becomes mandatory challenger to Dmitry Bivol, who holds the IBF light heavyweight title. A mandatory challenger is the opponent a champion has to face or else give up the belt, so it is a position in the queue rather than a fight with a date on it. No Bivol fight has been arranged or dated for either man, and none can be until this one is settled.
Who is Dmitry Bivol?
Dmitry Bivol holds the IBF light heavyweight title, the belt the Birmingham winner will be next in line for. He holds the WBA Super and Ring belts at the weight as well, which makes him unified rather than undisputed, and he last defended them on 30 May 2026 with a unanimous decision over Michael Eifert. He is already under a separate World Boxing Organization order to negotiate a mandatory defence against Callum Smith.
Who is on the Whittaker v Wallace undercard?
The Whittaker v Wallace undercard was published on 18 August 2026 and is unusually deep. Two of the four title bouts are British championships: the British super-welterweight title is on the line when Bilal Fawaz meets Eithan James, and Sean Bruce faces Hamza Uddin for the British and Commonwealth flyweight titles.
Ibraheem Sulaimaan is matched with Sonny Hardy, and Aaron Bowen with Klint Baptiste. Odel Kamara makes his professional debut, and Adam Maca and Harley Burrows are on the bill with opponents still to be named. Four title bouts beneath a main event is a lot of boxing for one night. The full running order for the Birmingham card sits on the event page.
| Bout | Records as the promoter prints them |
|---|---|
| Ben Whittaker v Conor Wallace | 12-0-1 v 17-1 (12 KOs) |
| Bilal Fawaz v Eithan James | 12-1-1 (4 KOs) v 17-2 |
| Sean Bruce v Hamza Uddin | 8-2 v 6-0 (3 KOs) |
| Ibraheem Sulaimaan v Sonny Hardy | 11-0 (5 KOs) v 12-0 (5 KOs) |
| Odel Kamara v opponent to be confirmed | Professional debut |
| Aaron Bowen v Klint Baptiste | 8-1 (6 KOs) v 5-0 |
| Adam Maca v opponent to be confirmed | 7-0 (5 KOs) |
| Harley Burrows v opponent to be confirmed | 2-0 (1 KO) |
Tickets and hospitality for Whittaker v Wallace
Prestige Corporate Events arranges tickets and hospitality for the Birmingham card through its own suppliers, from a raised seat with a view of the full ring through to ringside. With doors at 16:00 and four title bouts beneath the main event, the practical question is where your group spends the hours before the main ring walk. Sightlines, arrival times and what a fight-night evening actually involves are set out on the Utilita Arena Birmingham venue page and in our guide to boxing hospitality in Birmingham. Other cards on the calendar sit under major boxing fights.
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. It is an IBF World Light Heavyweight final eliminator over 12 rounds, so no belt changes hands in Birmingham on 3 October 2026. The prize is the next fight rather than a belt: the winner becomes mandatory challenger to Dmitry Bivol.
Wallace is 17-1 with 12 knockouts. Whittaker's record stands at 12-0-1, and his last four bouts have all ended inside two rounds. Wallace has boxed five more professional bouts than the home fighter, which is unusual on a British bill.
A southpaw stance reverses the angles an orthodox boxer reads by instinct, and Whittaker builds his work on movement and timing rather than pressure. It is the main tactical question of the fight on 3 October 2026.
The bout was confirmed in July 2026 and the full undercard was published on 18 August 2026. Doors at Utilita Arena Birmingham open at 16:00 on Saturday 3 October 2026.
Prestige Corporate Events arranges seating and hospitality for the Birmingham card through its own suppliers. Packages differ mainly on where your group sits, from a raised seat with a view of the full ring through to ringside. Doors open at 16:00 and four title bouts sit beneath the main event, so a package covers a long evening of boxing rather than one ring walk. What is included in each package is confirmed on an enquiry, because it varies by supplier and by seating position.
The fight is already on sale. Both the promoter and Utilita Arena Birmingham list Ben Whittaker against Conor Wallace as on sale now, and neither publishes a presale window or a separate general-sale date. Hospitality for the card is arranged separately by Prestige Corporate Events through its own suppliers, so it does not follow the arena’s own sale dates.
Prestige Corporate Events takes enquiries rather than online orders, so nothing is paid on the website. An enquiry from the Ben Whittaker against Conor Wallace event page reaches the team, who call back within two hours to go through seating, numbers and what each package covers.
The arena names four stations for the venue: Birmingham New Street, Moor Street, Snow Hill and Five Ways. It runs North, South and West car parks, the West car park is reserved for pre-booked and hospitality customers, and the arena says parking is limited and advises booking a space in advance. The arena and its car parks sit inside Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone, where daily charges apply to vehicles that do not meet the zone’s criteria. Full arrival and access detail is on the Utilita Arena Birmingham venue page.
Written by Prestige Editorial Team
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