Ben Whittaker faces his toughest test to date on paper when he squares off against Conor Wallace this weekend.The pair are set to lock horns on Saturday night at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena in an IBF final eliminator bout to determine the mandatory challenger for unified WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.Wallace is 17-1 as a professional but hasn’t fought anyone close to Whittaker’s levelGettyWallace’s name won’t have been familiar to many fans in Britain before the contest was announced in July.That is because the 30-year-old has spent his entire professional career fighting lesser-known opponents on Australian soil.So who is Wallace? And what did he do to earn his spot? talkSPORT.com answers those questions here.Conor Wallace’s record and achievements While Wallace was born in Newry, Northern Ireland, he moved to Australia to turn over as a professional after being deselected from the 2018 Northern Irish Commonwealth Games boxing team.Wallace won six Irish youth titles and the Intermediates in 2015 before getting his career in the unpaid ranks underway in 2018.So far as a professional, Wallace has compiled a 17-1 record, with 12 of his wins coming inside the distance.He picked up the Australian light heavyweight title in his seventh pro fight before dropping the belt to Leti Leti via majority decision in the sole defeat of his career in April 2021.Wallace avenged the loss 19 months later by dispatching Leti in the sixth round and is now riding a ten-fight winning streak.He was last in action in April when he knocked out 28-14-2 Argentine journeyman Walter Gabriel Sequeira in the sixth round.Whittaker and Wallace square off in Birmingham on October 3MatchroomHow did Wallace land an IBF final eliminator against Whittaker?The Irish-Aussie has been carefully working his way up the world rankings with various regional sanctioning body belts.In August 2024, he defeated Britain’s Jerome Pampellone in an IBF eliminator bout to earn a No.2 ranking with the alphabet body.After Bivol fulfilled his IBF mandatory obligation by outclassing Michael Eifert in May, a final eliminator was ordered between the two highest-ranked 175lbers (Wallace at No.2 and Whittaker at No.3).The IBF is the last in the sanctioning body rotation system, meaning that the winner will likely have to wait for their shot at Bivol unless, of course, he chooses to relinquish the red and gold strap.Bivol has agreed to terms for a WBO mandatory defence against interim champion Callum Smith on December 12 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.After which, he is expected to pursue a rubber match with Artur Beterbiev. Watch Boxing on DAZN*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenueSign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.Click here to sign up.