Whittaker: I want to be Britain's greatest of all time

Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker has set his sights on becoming the greatest British boxer of all time after signing a long-term promotional deal with BOXXER.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that the 24-year-old will launch his professional career on Sky Sports, after becoming the fifth Team GB member from last year's Tokyo Games to join Boxxer.

Having become one of the stars of Team GB's record-breaking success at the Olympics, thanks to both his huge talent and considerable charisma, Whittaker is confident he can also take the professional ranks by storm.

"Sky and Boxxer just made sense for me, where I am in my career," Whittaker said at a news conference on Wednesday. "They've got a path where I can become the face of the sport, so I thought why not?

"I know I'm going to be a world champion. We'll push that to the side because everybody says they want to be a world champion, but you have to believe it and I will.

"One thing I'd really like to do… in this country, everyone always talks about Nigel Benn, (Chris) Eubank, this and that… when my career is said and done, I want the country to say, 'remember that Ben Whittaker, he was the best we ever had.'"

The anticipation for Whittaker's professional debut has only been heightened by the announcement that he will be trained by SugarHill Steward, who has headed heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury's corner since 2019.

Whittaker, who is managed by two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua's 258 MGT, revealed the process he had gone through to appoint Steward.

"He really breaks things down," Whittaker said of Steward. "He's a teacher.

Video: Tyson Fury firm on retirement after retaining world title against Dillian Whyte (Manchester Evening News)

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