Ben Whittaker made a press release with an emphatic second-round victory in his rematch with Liam Cameron final month.
After falling out of the ring in his first battle with Cameron, harm prevented the Olympic silver medallist from persevering with and Whittaker’s skilled document took its first blemish with a technical choice draw.
Whittaker got here beneath intense scrutiny after that, and celebrated wildly in his opponent’s nook after successful the second battle in model.
That grew to become a speaking level after the competition, though Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur, potential future rivals for Whittaker, declined to hitch within the refrain of criticism.
“After the fight he went to the corner of Cameron,” Yarde advised Sky Sports activities. “He celebrated of their face. Was it justified? I do not know as a result of I do not know if Liam Cameron’s crew had been saying issues within the build-up and from what I noticed myself Ben Whittaker had gotten quite a lot of backlash, folks saying he is a cop out, he lied and wasn’t actually injured. He needed to undergo that complete interval.
“Perhaps in his celebration he was only a bit overwhelmed and it confirmed within the after-fight press convention when he began crying. The feelings bought the higher of him.
“Generally within the warmth of the second you’ll be able to’t actually decide folks for a way they act or issues they do. It is typically pleasure and feelings getting uncontrolled.
“Some people are just better at masking it than others,” Yarde added.
“Can you imagine your average Joe walking down the street, how they would react, or people at home if they were ever in that position? They say they would react one way, but how they actually react they don’t know because they’re not in that situation, they’re not in that predicament.”
Arthur, who misplaced a trilogy battle with Yarde on the finish of final month, holds a factors win of his personal over Cameron.
Reflecting on Whittaker’s celebration, he advised Sky Sports activities: “I don’t think it was right but I think what Andy Lee said – the heightened emotions, he’d been through a lot over the past six months, a lot of doubt, and I think it come out probably by accident.”
Yarde will possible be positioning himself for a world championship battle, although Arthur, who has solely misplaced to Yarde and Dmitry Bivol, the division’s finest fighter, could possibly be a potential opponent for a future battle with Whittaker.
Arthur has taken notice of Whittaker’s earlier feedback. “He was talking [rubbish] about me before he quit in the first fight against Cameron. He’s a big name,” Arthur stated. “He’s just a bit of a clown. When we were in the ABAs together he posted pictures of me, he was cool.
“That is boxing. You may have competitors, it may be wholesome competitors, however you do not have to talk [rubbish] and put folks down. But it surely’s his persona. I do not hate it. Prince Naseem and everybody, they had been the identical however they had been the form of boxers I favored, I watched rising up. I am unable to hate what he does.
“I understand but because it’s against me or about me I’m going to think [that] naturally.”
Promoter Ben Shalom did level out that Whittaker is simply 10 fights into his skilled profession and would not need to be rushed.
“I want to see him get experience with [new trainer] Andy Lee. I want to see him fight different styles. I want to see him box internationally. I want to see him develop as a fighter,” Shalom advised Sky Sports activities.
“We believe and know he has the talent and we know he has everything to become a world champion and go down as one of the greats.
“Can we now translate that? Can we give him the expertise that that expertise deserves in order that he can fulfil what his legacy must be? That is what it is all about after this battle.
“Ten fights, the hype train is absolutely huge but I want to see him get his experience.”