Whittaker vs Rivera

Who won Whittaker vs Rivera?

Ben Whittaker beat Richard Rivera by technical knockout in the 2nd round on Saturday, June 27th, 2026, at Barclays Center, Brooklyn.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 10 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 175 pounds (12.5 stone or 79.4 kg).

This fight appeared on the undercard of Xander Zayas losing to Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis for the WBO World Junior Middleweight and WBA World Super Welterweight championship. Also on the undercard Emiliano Vargas beat Bryce Mills, and Jahi Tucker defeated Euri Cedeno.

Whittaker vs Rivera stats

Ben Whittaker stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 11 wins, zero losses, and 1 draw, 8 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Richard Rivera made his way to the ring with a record of 27 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, with 20 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Rivera had a slight advantage in power over Whittaker, with a 74% knockout percentage compared to Whittaker's 73%.

Ben Whittaker was the younger man by 6 years, at 29 years old.

Whittaker had a height advantage of 3 inches over Rivera.

Both Ben Whittaker and Richard Rivera fought out of an orthodox stance.

Whittaker was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 17 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2022, 5 years and 2 months later than Rivera, whose first professional fight was in 2017. He had fought 68 fewer professional rounds, totaling 58 compared to Rivera's 126.

Ben Whittaker went into the fight ranked number 2 by the WBC, 13 by the WBO, and 3 by the IBF at light heavyweight.

Whittaker vs Rivera form

Whittaker remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 3 of his recent opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had beaten Braian Nahuel Suarez on April 18, 2026, by knockout in the 1st round at Liverpool Arena, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Prior to that, he had beaten Benjamin Gavazi on November 29, 2025, by knockout in the 1st round at The Nec, Birmingham.

Going into that contest, he had won against Liam Cameron on April 20, 2025, by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Resorts World Arena, Birmingham.

Before that, he had drawn with Liam Cameron on October 12, 2024 in their 5 round contest at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He had beaten Eworitse Ezra Arenyeka on June 15, 2024, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Selhurst Park Football Ground, Crystal Palace, United Kingdom.

Activity check

Whittaker's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years and 12 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 4 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 19 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.8 rounds on average.

What time did Whittaker vs Rivera start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 9:15 PM EST / 6:15 PM PST at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, United States, which was around 2:15 AM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Whittaker vs Rivera?

Whittaker vs Rivera was broadcast on DAZN PPV in both the United States and the UK.

What were the odds on Whittaker vs Rivera?

Ben Whittaker was a 1/10 (-1000) favorite going into the contest, while Richard Rivera made his way into the ring at 6/1 (+600) with oddsmakers.