Ben Whittaker Under Doubt After Facing Adversity With Cameron
When you witness a highly touted prospect, you want to see how they fare when tested. British light heavyweight Ben “The Surgeon” Whittaker (8-0-1, 5 KOs) didn’t handle things well in the first tough test of his pro career, against Liam Cameron. As a result, many in the boxing community now question his resilience and wonder if he has the heart of a champion.
Whittaker has had his way with previous opponents, often toying with and embarrassing his adversaries. That was not the case against Cameron on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol on October 12 in Saudi Arabia.
Cameron landed hard punches to the head and body of The Surgeon. In the closing seconds of round five, both fighters tumbled out of the ring. The fight was ruled a technical draw, and Whittaker reportedly suffered a sprained ankle.
FAILING TO MEET THE MOMENT
In the days following the fight, several pundits and fans on social media felt that Whittaker was looking for a way out. At the time of the incident, he showed signs of distress and had problems dealing with Cameron’s pressure and power. The way things were going, the prospect appeared in danger of losing.
What was disturbing was that after the fall, there was no attempt on Whittaker’s behalf to try to fight on. It’s an unwritten rule that boxers must fight through physical impediments suffered during a contest. Yuriorkis Gamboa fought with a visible limp for most of his stoppage loss to Gervonta Davis in December 2019. Andre Ward had his knee drained in the locker room before his win over Sergey Kovalev in November 2016. Whittaker’s decision to shut things down looks weak and gives off the impression of someone who lacks resolve and intestinal fortitude.
The Surgeon has had high expectations from the British press since the beginning of his professional career. He and his camp have aspirations of a future matchup with Joshua Buatsi, a top-five fighter at 175. You can no longer talk about Buatsi when you struggled with a C-rated fighter in Cameron.
Whittaker is under a different kind of spotlight now. You don’t want to have a reputation for being soft. He must overcome that label to get back in the good graces of the boxing masses.
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