BEN WHITTAKER marked his Matchroom debut with a stunning first round knockout that left Benjamin Gavazi needing OXYGEN.
The British boxer joined Eddie Hearn’s ranks in October took to the ring to fight for the vacant WBC silver light-heavyweight title.
And he won the belt in style as he sent out a message to the rest of the division.
It didn’t take long for Whittaker to start showing his dominance with a series of blows connecting with Gavazi midway through the first round.
He was sent to the canvas inside the opening two minutes and survived a count with the referee reaching eight.
As the two fighters resumed and met in the centre of the ring, Whittaker could sense a victory was near and got back down to work on his opponent.
He connected with some big jabs before he hit a huge connection flush to the face to send Gavazi crashing down for the second time with 46 seconds of the first round still on the clock.
The referee immediately waved off the fight and checked on the German as he lay flat out in the middle of the ring.
Speaking after his win, Whittaker told DAZN: “Andy said in the locker room, what you do in sparring is enough, go and do it out there.
“At the end of the day, this was a chance for him to change his life, I had everything to lose.
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“He was a game kid but like I said I was going to show why I’m different, why I’m special.
“I will get myself in the gym and let this man [Eddie Hearn] direct my career, whatever happens happens.”
That was a tenth pro win for Whittaker and he marked it in style with an incredible finish.
Gavazi was back to his feet as the announcement was made with the official result.
Whittaker remains undefeated after the knockout win.
