Ben Whittaker continued his new spiteful side with a first round finish of Braian Suarez on Saturday at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena. The 28-year-old light heavyweight from the West Midlands has been guilty in the past of almost making a show of a fight when he really should be finishing it off. Whittaker, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has undeniable talent, but his theatrics in the ring have brought criticism from fans and boxing pundits.
However, since a nightmare evening against Liam Cameron in June of 2024, Whittaker seems to have made a change. He has since ironed out his last three opponents in the opening two sessions, including a clinical finish of Suarez in Round 1 last night. Whittaker revealed that the turning point came from a conversation from the recently retired and future Hall of Famer Terence Crawford.
“When I was in Dubai for an event, I saw Terence Crawford and he said, ‘Trust me, bro, you're a great fighter. You've got all the skill, but you play with your food too much.’” Whittaker recalled. “I sat back and thought, that's true, actually. I do play with my food too much, and ever since then I've been knocking and cleaning up. But that's just me as well, I do like to mess around, but I can do both. I can hop on one foot. I can spin around. I can look into the crowd. But the shot's there to take you out.”
Whittaker had spoken to BoxingScene in the build up about how he was trying to strike a balance between the showman that had made him a viral sensation and the finisher that is required to compete with the elite. Whittaker is after all competing in perhaps one of the toughest weight classes in the sport. The light heavyweight is no joke, with talent such as Dmitry Bivol, David Benavidez and Artur Beterbiev all active and, hopefully, willing to take on the coming challengers.
Whittaker’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and his trainer Andy Lee, both believe it’s too early for the 11-0-1 (8 KOs) prospect to be taking on the top of the division. Fans will point to Whittaker’s performance against Cameron as an indicator of what may happen when he faces the division’s elite, but Whittaker is adamant that experience was a learning curve.
“I was just immature then. I came from a household where we didn't have much. Overnight, I blew up,” Whittaker said. “I had the world at my feet. I was just enjoying my life, if anything and to be fair, that was a good turning point in my career, because you see me now, each fight since, I've knocked them all out. I've looked dangerous. I just look like the person I should be, but I'm trying to actually bring the showboating back. You saw me, I looked out in the ring, revved up the crowd next to me. So I'm trying to bring it back.”
With British boxing’s two most established fighters in Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in the twilight of their careers there is a gap for the next star to fill arenas up and down the country. Matchroom believe Whittaker is that man. Whittaker has a huge social media following and makes the headlines – good or bad – following his bouts.
“Truthfully, I'm not like these other fighters that really set out to be a superstar," he said. “You either got it or you ain't. A lot of people, they probably do a bit too much on social media and it's not them. I must be an original. You see the ring walk, you see the way I carry myself, you see the style, you see the swag. That's me since I was a kid. People probably hate it because they can't do it, but at the end of the day, I'm not trying to be anyone, I'm trying to be myself. I think that shows, that's why I have my following and my platform, the way it is. It's all about me. But when it's all said and done, I want to go out there as one of Britain's best fighters.”
