BEN Whittaker can be excused for many things in his exuberant post-fight celebrations. Emotions were beyond high. Six months of the boxing fraternity doubting him. He was probably even doubting himself. Accusations that he quit six months ago.
An Olympic silver medallist who took the easy way out of a fight that clearly wasn’t going his way. An overhyped fighter who had found the professional ranks too much for him. Whittaker had much to prove. Maybe more to himself.
Whittaker went into his rematch with Liam Cameron with his fighting reputation needing plenty of repair. A career that was supposedly on the line. Whittaker understandably had six months of frustration, anger, and much more to let go of.
The online fury over those celebrations was more than predictable. And lacking balance. Largely formed by their feelings towards the man himself. To their credit, Cameron and his inner circle didn’t make too much of it. So why should anyone else? Certainly, with the amount of venom that some immediately unleashed on the 27-year-old.
Nobody really knows what Whittaker has gone through over the last six months. The hurt would have run deep. Large periods of self-doubt. The tears that flowed in the immediate aftermath of his victory over Cameron clearly indicate what he has been through of late.
Whittaker has almost certainly brought much of it on himself. The heel persona does that. The showboating isn’t for everyone, especially against lower-level opposition. Hopefully, he has and will continue to apply some degree of self-reflection. If Whittaker wants the love, he has to apply himself a little differently when he is in the public eye. He is still learning his trade inside and outside of the ring. The online critics should accept that, at the very least.
But if Ben Whittaker isn’t for you, you can still have empathy and understanding towards his situation. Cut him some slack. Just maybe, we expect too much of him.
Despite the negativity towards him, and that includes a ‘home’ crowd that overwhelmingly and aggressively booed him on Sunday night in Birmingham, it was a very good night for Whittaker. An impressive second-round stoppage of a fighter who was starting to break him down in that infamous first meeting was perhaps even better than anyone in the Ben Whittaker business could have wished for.
A few more performances like that, and a little more love will surely come his way. If Whittaker keeps delivering what we saw on Easter Sunday, eventually, even the often fickle fight fans will see what they need to see. In many ways, Whittaker will determine his own future. Or at least, the perception of it.
Forget all the over-the-top noise about a premature stoppage. It wasn’t. From ringside, I had no issues with it. Repeated viewings haven’t changed my opinion. In truth, they have only hardened my viewpoint. Howard Foster arguably could have let Whittaker unleash a few more heavy unanswered punches on a clearly hurt Cameron.
But Cameron was done. He wouldn’t have recovered. Whittaker wouldn’t have stopped punching him in the head. What was the point of letting the fight go on? The result of the fight wouldn’t have changed. A fight is always better, ending one punch too early and not one punch too late.
In his first fight with Andy Lee, Whittaker looked like a reborn fighter. What happened in Riyadh six months ago could be the making of him. Probably for the first time in his 10-fight professional career, he looked like the fighter many claimed him to be. But Whittaker and Lee will know there is plenty of work yet to do.
As impressive as the performance was, beating Liam Cameron doesn’t mean he will win world titles. It doesn’t mean he will even win a British title. But the manner of that performance suggests he just might. For now, that’s all anyone can ask.
Live on DAZN, April 26 Eubank Jr vs. Benn. Over 30 years of rivalry and hatred all comes down to this! A bloodline born to settle the score, hatred in their blood. Eubank Jr vs. Benn, live on DAZN April 26.
Buy the pay-per-view now at https://www.dazn.com/oneonone
