The plan is not built around immediate moves toward champions Dmitry Bivol and David Benavidez. Hearn said Whittaker remains several fights away from that level.
“We are at least three fights off those guys. Maybe four or five. I’m just being honest. We’ve got to get it right,” he said.
Instead, Hearn pointed to a different tier of opponents as the next step, naming Callum Smith, Joshua Buatsi, Anthony Yarde, and Willy Hutchinson as the level Whittaker is approaching.
“Those guys are serious fighters. So, how far away from the level slightly underneath those guys? I’m talking about Callum Smith, Buatsi, and Yarde, and Willy Hutchinson or whoever you want to put in that mix. I’m saying one or two fights away,” Hearn said.
Yarde and Hutchinson are positioned below names like David Morrell in the current landscape, a fighter many fans have mentioned as a more direct test for Whittaker. Hearn’s focus instead remains on matchups that keep Whittaker within the domestic and business side of the division while he closes the gap.
The route still leads toward a title shot, with a final eliminator expected to play a role in securing a mandatory position.
“I think soon we’re going to be in a situation where we’re going to be in a final eliminator,” Hearn said.
The goal is 2027, but the road there is all about a steady climb instead of diving straight into the division’s most dangerous fights.
