Whittaker’s promoter also recognizes that the 29-year-old Brit is older than most developing boxers with 12 fights on their professional records. That’s why Whittaker will have only two or three more bouts, starting with his 10-rounder against Richard Rivera on Saturday night, before Hearn would match the 2021 Olympic silver medalist against any 175-pound opponent in boxing.

Whittaker (11-0-1, 8 KOs), a native of West Bromwich, England, will square off versus Rivera (27-2, 20 KOs), of Hartford, Connecticut, on the Xander Zayas-Jaron Ennis undercard at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Their 10-rounder will be the second of four fights on the main portion of this DAZN Ultimate/DAZN Pay-Per-View show at 8 p.m. ET (1 a.m. BST).

“He’s gonna go [Saturday night], then in October [in England] and then he may go in December, January,” Hearn told The Ring. “But that would be the max before we’re taking big risks. Because what you’ve gotta be really careful of, and this is what I like about Bam [Rodriguez], is you’ve got to be in these big fights when you’re in your absolute prime. You can’t let it pass you by. I feel Ben is now actually in his prime, so don't wait and keep treading water for too long.”

“That’s why Bam is like, ‘Give it to me now.’ And same with [Ennis]. But if you let these guys just go and tread water, they’ll end up going stale. I feel like that’s why with Ben, six months is all we need, really, until he’s a hundred percent ready for some of the biggest fights in the division.”

Hearn has informed Andy Lee, Whittaker’s trainer, that their plan is to have “The Surgeon” fight for a light heavyweight title sometime early in 2027.

The 175-pound belts are held by Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO champ Dmitry Bivol (25-1, 12 KOs) and WBC champ David Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs), but one or more of those crowns could become available by then.

Whittaker is ranked second by the WBC and third by the IBF, which at least places him in prime position to potentially fight for an interim or vacant title while Bivol and Benavidez battle other opponents – presumably Artur Beterbiev and Noel Mikaelian, respectively.

Whittaker will encounter a durable opponent in the 35-year-old Rivera, who hasn’t been knocked out during a pro career that began in January 2017. Rivera also gave former super middleweight, light heavyweight and cruiserweight champ Badou Jack a difficult fight in August 2022, when Jack edged him by split decision in a 10-rounder that took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Whittaker, who is not ranked in The Ring’s top 10, is still a 12-1 favorite, according to DraftKings. His last three fights have lasted less than four rounds combined, which was why Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing secured an opponent that stands a better chance of taking Whittaker deeper into this fight than Liam Cameron in their rematch (two), Benjamin Gavazi (one) and Braian Suarez (one).

“I’m hoping Rivera will actually give him rounds,” Hearn said, “but we’ll see.”