Ben Whittaker finally addresses the “playing too much” criticism

The appearance are complicated by the fact that he often taunts opponents who are clearly outmatched, leading to criticism that he is simply bullying lower-level competition in fights designed to make him look good. This creates a narrative of unnecessary humiliation rather than true competitive dominance.

“You can go out there dancing like Chris Brown, but if you lose, it’s not going to happen again,” Whittaker said to DAZN. “Winning is all that matters.”

Whittaker has people split. Half the fans want him to stop the clowning, while the other half only watch because he’s a character. He says he gets why people are annoyed, but the real issue is who he’s fighting. It is easy to look flashy against guys who never had a chance to win.

If he pulled those stunts against killers like David Benavidez or David Morrell, fans would respect it more. But right now, his promoters aren’t putting him in with that top tier, even though he’s the same age as the big names.

“A lot of people, you can never please everybody,” Whittaker said. “They say Ben Whittaker plays too much. Then I knock somebody out, and they say why is he not dancing no more.”

Whittaker insists the style is not an act. It is something that comes naturally once he settles into a fight.

“For me, as long as I go out there and be original, that’s what matters,” he said.

Whittaker isn’t buying the Prince Naseem Hamed comparisons, even though people bring it up constantly. He claims he never even watched Naseem fight.

Still, his flashy style looks a lot more like Naz than it does the traditional legends he says he studied. He insists his game is built on guys like Pernell Whitaker and Willie Pep, but his movement goes way beyond the basic stuff Pernell used to do.

“Truthfully, no. I actually never watched Prince Naseem fight,” Ben said. “I grew up on a real boxing foundation. I’ve seen people trying to copy my style, but that’s when they’ll get into trouble because it’s not them. It’s not original. Sometimes if it’s there, I’ve got to take it.”