Ben Whittaker on Saturday relaunches his career as a Matchroom fighter as enthused about his new promoter’s plans for him as he is relieved to move on from his rivalry with Liam Cameron.
The light heavyweight fights Benjamin Gavazi of Germany at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, near his hometown of West Bromwich in a statement of Matchroom’s intention of making him a focal point of the fight scene in the UK.
He has been told by Eddie Hearn that they will deliver for him up to four fights in 2026 – by way of comparison it has been reported that Boxxer, his promoter until he agreed terms with Matchroom, will have a total of four promotions for their entire stable across the calendar year – and in the same way in which he will be built as an attraction near his hometown, he will also receive opportunities to feature on undercards overseas.
It was overseas – more specifically in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – where Whittaker’s promising career endured its first setback, on account of an injury contributing to him withdrawing, mid-fight, from his match-up with Cameron, a draw being declared, and the criticism he therefore endured.
He responded by replacing Joby Clayton, his godfather and long-term trainer, with the experienced Andy Lee – and the pressure applied to him by Queensberry Promotions ahead of their rematch in April, Whittaker has since revealed, in turn influenced his decision to leave the promotional organisation of Ben Shalom.
When he stopped Cameron in the second round the undefeated Whittaker made his finest statement in his 10 fights as a professional and demonstrated the potential that exists in his relationship with Lee.
Victory over the 30-year-old Gavazi – particularly if he again produces the nature of explosive finish that suggests Lee is harnessing Whittaker’s considerable reach via the culture he learned from under Manny Steward at the Kronk – could even lead to Whittaker fighting the winner of Craig Richards-Dan Azeez, who top a Matchroom promotion in Ghana on December 20, and accelerating his career in 2026.
“I can have three, four fights next year where, my last promoter, they only had four fights they could do, so it’s like, ‘When can I get on there?’,” the 28 year old said. “That’s probably two fights for me; one headliner and one undercard. The position I’m at now, it’s not what I need. I’m no diva; don’t mind being on an undercard or anywhere, as long as I can get activity. Straight away, as soon as I’ve signed, I’m headlining back in Birmingham. It’s a good start.
“I love fighting in England. We’ve got the best fans; UK is the best; I get a lot of stick here but I love it. Got a good US fanbase; weirdly, one of my biggest followings is Japan and Brazil. Eddie can take me to those weird places you’d never get to go – it was an eye-opener too as I can dabble in America and elsewhere, whereas fighting in the UK is nice but would get a bit boring if you got the opportunity to go elsewhere.
“Luckily, my social media shows your ratings where people are from. There’s a world champion called ‘Popo’ [Acelino Freitas] – old fighter – he posted me on his Instagram, one of my videos, and it went crazy. I was just playing around, put a Vini [the Brazil international soccer player Vinicius Junior] top on – now they think I’m Brazilian. I’m like ‘Here we go’. Everywhere I go, I try to put a Flamengo [soccer] shirt on – they’re great people, showed me a lot of love, [and] of course Japan with the anime and things like that. It’s good.
“[I’ve] only had 10 fights. I’m 28; [Artur] Beterbiev is 40; the other [light-heavyweight] guys are 34, 35; I’ve got time on my side but don’t want to linger. I think I’ve got the skill and talent to get there pretty much sooner rather than later, but it’s down to Eddie to get the right fights. Like I said, next year for me is an active year with different challenges; styles; looks. I’m fighting for the [lightly regarded, vacant title] WBC Silver which will give me a decent ranking, so when you get those little things there, it opens the door a little quicker, whatever comes.
“Luckily I’m ranked with the IBF too – that’s one thing as well, when I was with Boxxer, I didn’t really know what channels to go down. I’m leaving it with Eddie now but the green is nice. I’m a bit greedy, I like them all; whatever route I go down, hopefully I can win.
“The British fans love a domestic clash and one of the best weights is light heavy, up and down from one to 15, all great names. Whatever is there, I’ll take; that’s why I’ve joined these guys, to make these fights happen.
“The one good thing I liked about [the rivalry with Cameron] is sometimes people see me as arrogant… In the second fight I just kept it nice and cool, let him do the talking; it put him in a position that he’s not used to; I knew that would kinda bite at him.
“Even after I won, [I] could’ve been nasty or posted things; we’ve had private talks on Instagram; I said ‘If you ever wanna come down and spar…’. Didn’t take the opportunity – could even show you – I’m not a nasty person. At the end of the day even though it was a shit time, it made me a better fighter, because if it didn’t happen there, it could’ve went down the line and I could’ve got hurt even more. That little bump in the road made me realise boxing is serious and you can’t mess around.”
Whittaker’s agreement with Matchroom was officially announced via a video posted to social media of a conversation between he and Hearn akin to the celebrated “Show me the money” scene of Jerry Maguire.
The confirmation of his first fight date was then complemented by an announcement from Boxxer that the first promotion of their broadcast agreement with the BBC, headlined by the vacant British heavyweight title fight between Frazer Clarke and Jeamie Tshikeva, would take place in nearby Derby on the same night.
“It’s just boxing,” Whittaker said. “For boxing fans, it’s not the best. I always said to my family, ‘Why would they do that?’. You want eyes on every event; you try to look for a gap and put it there but business is business; me personally, I don’t think they wanted to rub any shoulders; was probably the only date they could get with the venue but it’s like, ‘Come on, man, only certain people are going to watch Frazer and me do it on certain days, you can open it up to everyone’. Boxing is boxing.”
Asked about whose idea it had been to evoke memories of Jerry Maguire, played by Tom Cruise, he responded: “It was me. When I first ever met Eddie and the other promoters, I was always doing little skits and putting things on; they were doing numbers. My manager come to me and said they asked if I wanted any input; I said ‘If they can do this, it’d be good’ – didn’t think they would, [they] come back and okayed it. I was gutted. Thought ‘[Now] I have to do all these lines’. It came out good; everyone liked it; [it] did numbers so it’s good.”
Perhaps more important than his agreement with Matchroom is the development of his understanding with Lee. If the Irishman is already recognised as one of the world’s most promising young trainers, under his guidance Whittaker has quickly showed signs of improvement, and says that he is thriving through sharing a training environment with Joseph Parker, Hamzah Sheeraz and Paddy Donovan, having become accustomed to training almost by himself.
“[Lee] actually messaged me,” Whittaker explained. “‘You alright, Ben? I know you’re going through a lot right now; I would love you to come to [Dublin,] Ireland; you’ve got the talent; the door’s open’. I thought I had to jump at the chance, went over there, and we clicked straight away because, luckily, my style was a bit like his; [he] grew up with the Kronk fighters; I was with Sugar [Hill Steward] so it was nice and easy; an easy transition so for me. It was like an Irish version of Sugar – a bit weird – [but] it was perfect for me.
“It’s been great – luckily, I didn’t have to change too much. The biggest compliment is, of course, a lot of people coming out of the woodwork, ‘Ben’s this and that’. Someone like Andy – to get his time is a precious thing at the moment because everyone is trying to go there.
“Now look at his camp. He’s got Hamzah; me; Joe; Paddy. It’s great people to be around, whereas before it was only me and little kids in the gym. You can turn off and go, ‘Yeah, they’re asking you questions’, feeling good and shadowboxing, where I go ‘Today’s Joe’s rest day, if he’s doing it... I may as well do it too’. You learn from what’s around you. It makes you better.
“[Jumping off a nearby cliff into water is] one of the first things he did. It’s even little things like that, man – the first time I did that, I cut my toe. I was that scared; cut [myself on it]; me being me, I didn’t want to tell him. So I held it down, he asked how is it, I said ‘Yeah it’s okay’, we’re walking up and there’s blood everywhere. He goes ‘What happened?’ I said ‘Yeah, I cut myself’. ‘Why didn’t you say something?’ ‘I was nervous, man!’.
“Little things like that – he’s a great person to be around and if he tells you something to do, I’ll do it. I love my old coach – he’s my godfather – but if he told me to jump in that water, I’d tell him ‘You must be crazy – jump in there yourself’. If Andy says it, I don’t question it, which is what you want.
“Joby [Clayton] isn’t still involved, but we still talk; he’s my godfather and been with him since when I started; he’s the first person to give me a pair of gloves; I respect things like that but for me, boxing is a selfish sport and you need to… If the opportunity is there to get better, you need to go there. He’s took me to a certain point; a great point; an Olympic medal, but to get to the next level, [I’ve] brought someone who’s been a pro, was a world champion, and [has] got a good stable.
“Money; fame was there; lights and cameras; it was a bit too much to be honest. I used to be able to go to [supermarket] Asda and get milk for my mum; [I] go in there now and I’m getting bombarded, ‘This is crazy’, and you get lost in it. That’s probably what happened in the first [Cameron] fight; shopping; went crazy; it brought me back to earth. I’ve got from places like that to Dublin, where no one knows me. I love it because that’s switched me back on; it showed in the second fight, when I took it serious, what I can do.
“[I’ve also learned] you can’t please everyone. I was trying to do this; go there; say this to that person. At the end of the day your career is very short; take it serious and while it’s there, just focus. The good thing about [Lee] is that he’s not tried to change me too much. Just adding to what I’ve got.”
