Olympic bronze medallist and bitter Ben Whittaker rival Imam Khataev made quick work of Padraig McCrory on Thursday night.It took Khataev just 69 seconds to blast away McCrory on the Osleys Iglesias vs Oliver Zaren undercard at the Théâtre Capitole in Quebec, Canada.Khataev is a hellacious puncher, with 12 of his 13 professional wins coming inside the distanceAFPThe highly-touted Russian contender piled on the pressure early, buckling McCrory’s knees with a massive left hook before sending his adversary tumbling to the canvas with a follow-up right hand. McCrory tried to get back to his feet, but he was unable to beat the count as his legs gave way.It marks McCrory’s quickest defeat as a professional after previously being halted in six rounds by Edgar Berlanga and eight by Craig Richards.The Northern Irishman falls to 20-3 as a professional in defeat, while Khataev improves to 13-1 as he looks to claw his way back into the world title picture.Khataev fell to the sole defeat of his professional career in July last year in a fiercely contested fight against David Morrell, which the Cuban edged via split decision.The aptly nicknamed ‘Destroyer’ has won three straight fights since then and is ranked by two of the four major sanctioning bodies (IBF and WBO).Khataev is currently the IBF’s next highest-ranked contender behind mandatory challenger and former Olympic foe Whittaker.What is Khataev’s history with Whittaker?The pair locked horns in the semifinals of Tokyo 2020, with Whittaker coming away a deserved winner before losing in the final to Arlen Lopez.Referencing Whittaker’s tearful reaction to missing out on a gold medal, Khataev took to Instagram days before his bout with McCrory to call for a rematch with ‘The Surgeon’ in the pros.“See you soon,” wrote Khataev. “I want to see you cry again, just like you did at the Tokyo Olympics.”View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/IglesiasZaren?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwKhataev isn’t on Whittaker’s radar, at least for now, but if both men keep winning, it seems inevitable they will eventually meet again.Whittaker defeated Conor Wallace on points in an IBF final eliminator last weekend that almost ended in disaster for the Brit.While Whittaker dominated the early proceedings, Wallace rallied in the last three rounds and had the former Team GB standout in serious trouble in the 12th and final stanza.Whittaker had to hold on for dear life to see out the fight, and conversations are now being had about a potential rematch.Domestic dust-ups with Anthony Yarde and the winner of Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson II are also up for consideration.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.