He was expected to win, but the question was, how would he look?

"The Surgeon" delivered in spades, dropping Gavazi once and then flatlining him to win by knockout at the 2:15 mark of the first round. 

"All I can say is WOW!," Whittaker's promoter, Eddie Hearn, told DAZN after the fight. "Sometimes people come into an arena, and they light up the place. The energy. The ring walk. Everything. 

"What matters is what happens in here (the ring). 

"This guy has it all. The ability to light up British boxing and world boxing." 

It was all Whittaker (10-0-1, 7 KOs) from the outset. His hand and foot speed were too much for Gavazi. The first knockdown came after Whittaker unloaded an eight-punch combination, punctuated by an overhand right to send Gavazi to the canvas.

Gavazi got up, but you knew it was just a matter of when, not if, Whittaker would put him out of his misery. A left-right hook combination from Whittaker sent Gavazi into the ropes. The German was in a world of trouble, and Whittaker knew it.

The 28-year-old followed with an uppercut to the body and closed with another left-right hook combination, sending Gavazi right to sleep.

"When you walk out pretty like that, you have to back it up. And that’s what I did," Whittaker said in his post-fight interview.