Richard Rivera: Ben Whittaker hides fear behind jokes

Richard Rivera believes Ben Whittaker's ringside comedy act is a cover for something deeper.

The veteran heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight faces the heavily promoted Whittaker this Saturday in Brooklyn on the undercard of Zayas vs Boots, and Rivera told Bad Left Hook the Olympic silver medalist uses personality to mask insecurity. "I'm not too thrown off by his antics," Rivera said. "I don't think that those moves, those antics, come from bravery. I think it's a mask to hide his real fear."

Rivera's path to the Whittaker fight

The 35-year-old Rivera brings a 27-2 record into the bout but has spent much of his career on the margins despite a legitimate test of Badou Jack in 2022, when he dropped a split decision over ten rounds in Saudi Arabia. His other defeat came two years later in the Dominican Republic against Luis Antonio Tejeda, an eight-round majority decision scored by three local judges. Rivera claims top names at heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight and cruiserweight have dodged him for years, pointing to Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev as fighters who wanted him for sparring but not for real bouts.

Whittaker, meanwhile, is 11-0-1 with eight knockouts and just scored a first-round stoppage of Braian Suarez in April. The 29-year-old has yet to fight in the United States, and Saturday marks his American debut. Rivera said he expects the world to call the result an upset when he wins, adding that Whittaker disguises flaws with jokes. "When it comes down to fight night, we're gonna see how far them antics take him," he said.

The fight airs Saturday night from Brooklyn. Rivera has won his last two since the Tejeda loss.

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• Bad Left Hook — ‘I’m just not impressed’: Richard Rivera believes Ben Whittaker uses jokes to hide fear