Ben Whittaker salutes the crowd on his way to the ring on June 15 at Selhurst Park in London. (Photo credit: Lawrence Lustig, BOXXER)
There was no showboating from Ben Whittaker at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
Liam Cameron didn’t give him a chance.
Olympic silver medalist Whittaker, 27, entered the 10-round light heavyweight fight against seasoned veteran Cameron as overwhelming favourite. Someone should have told the former Commonwealth champion that.
In typical Whittaker fashion, he started quickly. His quick hands, flashy combinations and tight jab saw him comfortably through the first round. But things changed in the second.
Cameron, who hails from the steel city of Sheffield in Yorkshire, started to time Whittaker. Despite the slower hands, Cameron was able to land between Whittaker’s shots. His high-glove defense was also effective.
Whittaker pressed the action in the third, but he struggled to penetrate Cameron’s tight defense. In contrast, Cameron was able to counter him cleanly. The left rip was a particularly powerful weapon for the underdog.
By the fourth, Cameron was clearly in control. There was nothing flashy about his boxing, but he landed the cleaner, heavier punches and his defense was sound. In a telling moment after the bell, Whittaker only half-raised his arms in victory as he returned to his corner.
Cameron kept it going in the fifth. Whittaker, clearly frustrated with his stubborn opponent, tried to attack the body to slow Cameron down. Even these efforts fell short when he strayed low and drew a warning from the referee, who threatened to dock a point if he hit below the belt again.
Cameron locked Whittaker right at the bell and bullied him into the ropes. Whittaker, from Darlaston in the West Midlands, held on tight and leaned back. The duo fell over the loose ropes onto the ring apron, with security rushing in to stop them from falling to the floor.
As they rolled their way back into the ring under the bottom rope, Whittaker appeared to be in pain. He was helped back to his corner and his right boot was removed after an apparent ankle injury. He didn’t answer the bell to start the sixth and the fight was sent to the cards after the accidental injury.
As the scores were tallied, Whittaker was taken back to the locker room in a wheelchair.
The judges scored the bout 58-57 for Whittaker, 58-57 Cameron, and 58-58, a split technical decision.
“He didn’t want any more,” said a dejected Cameron afterwards, who believed he had done enough to get the nod.
Cameron moves to 23-6-1 with 10 knockouts, while Whittaker walks away with a ledger that reads 8-0-1 with five knockouts. There is little doubt that there will be a rematch.
