Salita Promotions Aims To Give Atif Oberlton A Big Push With Hopes of Landing A Ben Whittaker Fight

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Dmitry Salita is aiming for light heavyweight Atif Oberlton to fight Ben Whittaker in the future.

Oberlton recorded a fifth-round technical knockout win over Carlos Gongora last month at The Gateway Center in College Park, Georgia.

Oberlton, 16-0 (14 KOs), signed a co-promotional agreement with Salita Promotions in January, while continuing to work with his long-time promoter, Marshall Kauffman of Kings Promotions. The 27-year-old Oberlton is on an eight-fight knockout streak. His 2026 has looked like this – he stopped Joseph George (though under bizarre circumstances in February) and had Gongora’s team stop the fight in the corner this past weekend.

Now, Salita has his targets set on 2020 British Olympic silver medalist Whittaker.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Trapp/Salita Promotions

“Atif vs Ben Whitaker is a super fight in the making,” Salita told FightsATW. “I believe each needs a few more fights and continued development, but in the next 8 to 12 months, this has the potential to become one of the biggest fights in the sport.”

In a world where rivalries are built on spiritual opposites, think Vasiliy Lomachenko versus Teofimo Lopez, that couldn’t be further from the truth for these two. Oberlton and Whittaker seem to be cut from a similar cloth. They both have loud personalities and are talented; they are also flashy, both in and out of the ring.

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Oberlton of Philadelphia danced into the ring, accompanied by a local rapper. Oberlton is also a fashion designer, wearing an outfit to the ring inspired by the latest trends. In the ring, he is an imposing pressure fighter; outside, an interesting interview, with interest beyond the sport.

Whittaker, 11-0-1 (8 KOs), might be Britain’s best chance at a superstar boxer outside of rising heavyweight phenom, Moses Itauma. The 28-year-old from West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, Whittaker, went viral for mocking opponents in the ring. Now, he has two first-round knockouts in a row. He is a polarizing figure; he also has yet to face a true rival or anticipated foe, with Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev in the later stages of their careers, and uncertainty around whether David Benavidez, who holds a belt in the division and cruiserweight at the same time, will fight.

“Atif has the skills, personality, and style to be a true superstar in the sport,” Salita said. “Inside the ring, this is a matchup between two potential heirs to the light heavyweight throne, one from the U.S. and one from the UK, both with real personality, charisma, and influence outside the ring as well.”

Oberlton’s win over Gongora becomes his most notable as he is the first man to stop him (in Gongora’s light heavyweight debut), as Gongora went the distance against Lester Martinez and Christian Mbilli.

“Atif just stopped a world-class fighter in Carlos Gongora, who had never previously been stopped, and in many ways, he is only just getting started,” Salita said.