Conor Wallace believes the referee ‘didn’t do him any favours’ against Ben Whittaker.The pair met in an IBF final eliminator bout in Birmingham on Saturday night to determine the mandatory challenger for unified WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.Wallace had Whittaker in real trouble in the 12th round of their title eliminatorGettyWhittaker dominated the early proceedings, before Wallace rallied in the final three rounds.In the 12th and final stanza, Wallace had Whittaker out of his feet and holding on for dear life.As he piled on the pressure, Whittaker was sent tumbling to the canvas three times, but referee Kieran McCann didn’t administer a count.Wallace believes he deserved to get at least one knockdown and criticised McCann for not coming down harder on Whittaker for excessive holding.Wallace slams referee “I do definitely feel like the referee didn’t do me any favours,” Wallace said during an appearance on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan show on Tuesday morning.“I definitely feel like one or possibly two of them should have been knockdowns, and he was holding on for dear life.“You need to be given a chance to get going, and I was trying to get the action going.“Yes, I did smother myself a little bit. Maybe I was trying too hard to put him away.“I should have shortened those shots when I look back at it, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.”While Whittaker won the fight fairly comfortably on points, the shaky ending had the Olympic silver medallist’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, opening the door to a rematch.Wallace believes the referee should have scored at least one knockdown in the 12th roundGettyWallace reveals what he will change in the rematchAsked what he would do differently next time around, Wallace added: “I definitely feel I need to start faster.“I know I lost those first few rounds. But he is a tricky operator. He is very elusive and very fast.“He was wanting me to fall in. People were saying, ‘He should have thrown the left hand earlier’, but if I do that, I leave myself open for his counter right hand. “I’m not an idiot; I’ve been around a game, and I know he’s a sharpshooter.“But I need to pick up from where I left off and come home strong [in the rematch].“I have full belief in myself that I will get the job done the next time, and I’m not just saying that to get the fight.“If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t be in the ring.”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.