Lewis Edmondson is looking for a fight. 

The 28-year-old from Southampton is unbeaten in eight professional outings and seems to have been on the brink of a breakthrough since he stopped former Commonwealth champion, Luke Blackledge, almost three years ago.

Despite his best efforts inside – and outside – the ring, his British 175lbs rivals have yet to take the bait.

Top of his hit list is Ben Whittaker. Edmondson has had his sights set on the Olympic silver medallist since the pair had a run in at a press conference last December.

Whittaker’s star has risen quickly and he is rapidly developing into the type of crossover star that the sport is crying out for. For the time being, boxing fans seem happy to tune in and watch him go through his repertoire of tricks regardless of the opposition but sooner rather than later the 26-year-old will face a stiffer test of his credentials. 

Whittaker got eight good rounds under his belt when he outpointed Leon Willings last month and an all-British grudge match with an ambitious, unbeaten fighter like Edmondson would seem to be an ideal step this summer.

During an interview with Jadene Angela on the 6181 podcast, Edmondson stated his belief that, for the time being at least, Whittaker is more about the show than the business. 

“The more I watch him, the more he makes me laugh to be honest. Obviously I want to fight him,” Edmondson said. “I want to fight everyone in the division that’s around my level because I know where I stand. These guys are not like that. If they’re that confident in their ability, he should have been saying to [his promoter] Ben Shalom, ‘Get him in the ring. I’ll show you what I’m about’ like I’m saying. But he’s not.”

If Whittaker decides to take a different route, Edmondson has plenty of other targets to take aim at. The business end of Britain’s light heavyweight division may be thriving at the moment but the talent runs deep.

Ezra Taylor is the latest fighter to add his name to the list of contenders. It would be an exaggeration to say that the unbeaten 29-year-old has exploded onto the scene but he was quietly impressive when stopping Joel McIntyre last September and he followed that up with a fourth-round knockout of the heavy-handed Prince Oko Nartey last month. Edmondson would welcome a meaningful fight with any of his domestic rivals but doesn’t think that they feel the same way.

“They don’t. They haven’t got it in the tank. They haven’t got heart,” he continued with a laugh. “That’s what they lack. Ezra Taylor did an interview the other day. They were saying, ‘Lewis Edmondson keeps calling you out. Do you want it?’ ‘Oh, you know. Er. Er. We want big fights.’ What is that? Say it with your chest if you think you’re that good because I will tell him straight – to his head – I will snap his neck within four rounds but he hasn’t got that same confidence and that same energy about me and they’re not piping up about it because they know the fight will get made.

“If they pipe up, their promoter will say, ‘Alright, sweet. Fight him next.’ That’s why they’re keeping quiet.”