Ben Whittaker has revealed that Boxxer’s inability to offer him consistent fight dates forced him to leave them for Matchroom.
He also believes that had he already been working with his new promoters he wouldn’t have been subjected to the pressure Queensberry Promotions placed him under ahead of his rematch in April with Liam Cameron.
The light heavyweight, 28, will fight for the first time since signing for Matchroom when on November 29 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, he confronts Germany’s Benjamin Gavazi.
That on that same evening takes place the launch of Boxxer’s new broadcast agreement with the terrestrial television platform of BBC, following their separation from Sky Sports, with the vacant British heavyweight title fight between Frazer Clarke and Jeamie Tshikeva is a reflection of the potential opportunities he has so willingly left behind.
Whittaker-Gavazi will instead be on the subscription platform DAZN, but Whittaker, one of British boxing’s finest prospects, insists that he is instead prioritising in-ring activity.
He has fought 10 times as a professional since his debut in July 2022, but after four fights in 2024 will conclude 2025 having fought only twice. Though it has been reported that Boxxer and the BBC have agreed to four promotions a year, Whittaker was tempted by Matchroom – considerably more prolific promoters – offering him not only activity but the opportunity to fight around the world.
It may also yet prove relevant that he will be fighting on the same platform as his domestic rivals and fellow Matchroom fighters Callum Smith and Craig Richards and Queensberry counterparts Joshua Buatsi, Willy Hutchinson and Anthony Yarde.
“I just wanted activity, but of course it went a bit quiet, so I was gutted,” he said. “I think we all knew I was going to come down this road – I was lucky enough to become a free agent, spoke to everyone, and [Matchroom] gave me the best plan, the best route. They’ve been there and done it before – they’ve done it before with fighters, so I thought if they can do it with them, with a bit of guidance I’ll be alright.
“World champion – that’s the plan. But I can do global fights; I’ve got more of a global audience. Activity’s key – elsewhere I couldn’t really do a lot of fights. It’s get active. I’m still 28. When you get into that later part of your career, world titles or contending for a world title, your career will slow down. This year I’m getting one [more] fight – you’re not going to learn like that. They’ve put down a plan where I can do three, four fights a year, and that’s what I needed.
“I’m 28 now. Time waits for nobody, and the way things were going: ‘When am I going to fight? Am I gonna fight?’ It was just all over the place. What [Boxxer] have done for me is great, and I’ll say that to everybody – they helped me out, got me into a great position. At the end of the day it’s just business. You can’t take things personal, but I think we knew, down the line, me and Eddie and [Matchroom chief executive] Frank Smith would happen, and we’re here now.
“The [BBC-Boxxer] platform was great, but when I looked into it it wasn’t BBC One. It was BBC Three. It’s one of those – I’m not here just for numbers now. I’m here to try and make better fights; I’m here to try and get my ranking somewhere; I’m here to divert my career into the right way. I’ve got the numbers already – my social media’s okay; people know me – armchair fans, if they know you or don’t know you, it doesn’t really matter to me now.”
Ahead of his second fight with Cameron in April – also in Birmingham, near his hometown of West Bromwich – Whittaker endured his reputation being undermined by Boxxer having made a mistake in the contract that stipulated that they would fight over 12, instead of 10, rounds.
That contract was re-negotiated to ensure a 10-round contest, but it was an episode that unfolded in the media and would have risked distracting Whittaker, who regardless recorded his finest win by stopping Cameron in the second.
The rematch with Cameron also represented Whittaker’s first fight under his new trainer Andy Lee, and ahead of the second, with the 30-year-old Gavazi, he said: “I don’t want to say too much. But with Eddie and Frank, that wouldn’t have happened. It was a bit of a nuisance on my part because I’m a fighter. I wouldn’t say ‘No’ to anything. But when things are coming out like that, it’s like, ‘Come on, man – that’s a bit of a rookie move’.
“Things can happen in boxing. It’s all he say, she say. At the end of the day, what they did was great. It was a great show, and I came back with a bang, so, fair play to Boxxer for that.
“It was a nuisance. The way the second fight happened should have happened in the first fight [Whittaker and Cameron drew in October 2024]. But these things happen for a reason.
“With sports, especially in boxing, look at my last fight – you have a massive period where your last fight performance lingers on for ages, where football you get to change that every week, so it was annoying. But at the end of the day these things happen – it’s put a bit of a boot up my bum. It’s made me focus a bit better, and that’s why I brought someone like Andy Lee on. I think it was a decent performance. You didn’t really get to see much, so hopefully the next one you get to see more.”
