Liam Cameron (23-7-1, 10 KOs) took the high road by not choosing to complain about the quick stoppage TKO loss in the second round against light heavyweight Ben Whittaker (9-0-1, 6 KOs) in their rematch at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.
Gracious in Defeat
Cameron, 34, showed his class by criticizing referee Howard Foster for prematurely stopping the fight in the second round after Whittaker had bum rushed him. Nothing significant was landed by Ben leading up to the stoppage, yet Foster opted to wave it off.
Fans on social media roasted the referee, saying it was a classic British stoppage. Cameron wasn’t bitter about the ending. He mentioned after the fight that he’d “earned a fortune” in the rematch tonight with life-changing money.
Morrell Comparison
2020 Olympic Silver medalist Whittaker, 27, is too old to be struggling at this level, and it’s becoming clear that he’s not going to pan out in the pro ranks. He’s the same age as former two-division world champion David Morrell, but he’s still being kept on training wheels. Morrell didn’t fight in the Olympics, but developed more skills than Ben on the Cuban national team. He’s been brought along faster.
Whittaker’s promoter needs to figure out what to do with him, as he appears to require protection similar to that of Hamzah Sheeraz. He’s missing that spark that would indicate that he’s capable of fighting world class opposition.
“Get beat by a better man. He was an Olympic Silver medalist. I gave him a tough time in Saudi. I thought I could do it again. He went and got a professional team and came back stronger. Well done to him,” said Liam Cameron to Boxing King Media, talking about his loss to Ben Whittaker tonight.
Cameron might rethink his praise of Whittaker after he takes a look at the replay to see that he was never given a chance due to the early stoppage. That fight should have been allowed to continue instead of being halted by the referee, Foster.
Winning Back Fans
“He’s tall and sharp,” said Cameron when asked if he expected Ben to come out fast tonight. “Being the popular guy don’t make me win fights, but I’ll take that to the grave with me forever. It’s boxing. In one, two, three fights, they [fans] might love him [Whittaker] him after a bit. It’s going to be one switch like they did with me.”
The only way the fans are going to start liking Whittaker is if his fights stop ending in controversy, and if he beats top-level guys at 175 instead of cherry-picking 168-lb fighters. If Ben wants to be liked by fans, he needs to fight David Morrell or David Benavidez next and prove that he can beat them. I wouldn’t give Whittaker a chance against either of those guys, but if he at least tried, you could respect that.
“It just happened like that. The fight happened like that,” said Cameron about his loss. “Look where I am. I don’t like to say it, but I’ve earned an absolute fortune. It’s not for me. It’s for my kids. That’s everything to me. I never thought I would earn what I earned tonight.
“I put everything into it. I had strength and conditioning. We did everything perfect. You could tell that he wanted the crowd to like him,” said Cameron about Whittaker. “He has to figure it out and get them back.”
Last Updated on 04/20/2025
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