Ben Whittaker weathered a late storm to punch his ticket for a world title shot in his hometown of Birmingham on Saturday night. Whittaker was out on his feet in the 12th and final round of a gruelling IBF final eliminator bout against heavy underdog Conor Wallace. Whittaker wins, but it was far too close for comfortGettyThe Irish boxer, who relocated to Australia to turn over as a professional in 2018, looked a step behind Whittaker in the early rounds, but came back with vengeance in the second half of the fight. Spurred on by fantastic Irish support, Wallace dug deep and rocked Whittaker multiple times in a high-octane 12th round.In the end, the judges determined it was too little, too late, as Whittaker was handed a unanimous decision by margins of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113.In doing so, he booked his mandatory position for a shot at unified WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. Whittaker likely won’t fight the Russian slickster until late 2027 or early 2028 given that the IBF is last in the sanctioning body rotation system.View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/WhittakerWallace?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThis is a developing story and is being updated.For the latest updates, breaking news alerts, and comprehensive analysis, refresh this page or follow our real-time news coverage by watching and listening to talkSPORT live.For broader context, explore related coverage on our homepage for the top trending stories. For the latest talkSPORT videos, download the app.talkSPORT cares about getting it right, not just getting it first and because this is a developing situation, details will change. We will be updating this page constantly with verified info, expert takes, and official statements.Stay tuned for further developments as this story continues to break.