Black Country fighter Ben Whittaker backed to come back stronger

The Darlaston light-heavyweight was tipped to improve on his 8-0 unbeaten record against his opponent from Sheffield with ease, but the Black Country fighter found himself in a tough scrap in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

On a night when the main event between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol should have made the headlines, it was Whittaker’s fight that caught the attention as both fighters toppled over the top rope in the fifth round and crashed out of the ring.

That bizarre moment left Whittaker with injuries to his neck and ankle and he left the arena in a wheelchair as the fight was declared a draw.

But Boxxer promoter Shalom, who Whittaker signed with in 2022, expects the 27-year-old to come back fighting.

“It was a bad night for Ben,” Shalom said via talkSPORT Drive.

“I have never seen Ben Whittaker perform like that.

“I knew from the first round he wasn’t right. His energy levels, his timing and he was getting hit with shots he never normally gets caught with.

“Ben Whittaker in the right mindset should be dealing with Liam Cameron no problem, so huge changes for him now.

“I feel for him in a way. He has become one of the most recognisable faces overnight, but he needs to get things right in the ring.

“But I believe that it will be the making of him. He is in a bad way and he is a perfectionist.

“He will make of this exactly what he should and he will be back.”

The Black Country scrapper is now recovering from his injuries before deciding on his next fight, with many calling for a rematch with Cameron.

Shalom added: “I believe we will see that rematch but first he has to go through a rehab process.

“I don’t know (how long) yet. He’s not going to fight this year. He was planned to return in December but he won’t be available then.

“Hopefully we will see him return early in the year as we don’t want this to stretch on too long.

“He is still getting assessments and is now back in the UK but we will see what happens.”

Cameron accused Whittaker of quitting and has demanded an immediate rematch.

He said via talkSPORT: “I just couldn’t believe all what was going on, there was a game plan to slowly break him down.

“He was calling me slow and saying my body was like a potato, and it’s not looking good for him now.

“I feel like I’ve ruined his persona and career. He said he was going to make me a meme and now he’s the meme.

“Ben needs the rematch, it has to happen. There is no way out of it.

“Fans are going to demand it and all of his followers have given me the love and support.”