Liam Cameron has alleged that Ben Whittaker was instructed to ‘stay down’ after the pair hurdled the top rope in an extraordinary end to Saturday night’s fight in Saudi Arabia.
The entangled pair dramatically tumbled out of the ring at the end of the fifth round, a heavy fall leaving Whittaker unable to continue as he left the arena in a wheelchair before being transported to hospital via ambulance.
The judges would rule the contest a technical decision split draw, with Cameron left unhappy having believed he had done enough to win the fight after five rounds.
“His corner said, ‘Stay down and pretend you’re hurt.’ Allegedly,” Cameron told TNT after the fight.
“I want either a rematch or something better. Ben deserves the rematch.
“I think I was a bit hard done by. He’s the golden boy here, and I’ve just ripped the script up.”
One judge ruled the fight 58-57 in favour of Whittaker, another 58-57 in favour if Cameron and the third level at 58-58, moving Whittaker’s professional record to 8-1 and Cameron to 23-6-1.
It had been proving an invaluable test for Whittaker amid his continued development, with Cameron serving as the busiest and most testing opponent to date for the rising star of British boxing.
“He didn’t want no more,” Cameron also told DAZN. “He were very tired. He give me his last 30 seconds. He had nothing left. Kid was knackered from round two.
“But look, I definitely beat him. I don’t get a fair share. I got a split decision lost in the last fight. I just had a draw this one. What more do I have to do? I’ve never had a promotional deal in my life, and I tried to do best today to get that win, and I thought I fully deserved it.
“Yeah (Whittaker wanted a way out), you could see it on camera. I don’t want to be critical to him, because no one gave me a chance. No one. It wasn’t the Liam Cameron show, I didn’t have no cameras on me, following me, just my small team.”
Whittaker has asserted himself as one of the most enthralling young talents in world boxing, breaking through to mainstream audiences across the globe with his slick skillset and viral showboating.
Cameron had represented another useful opportunity to hone his craft on his journey towards title contention, as much likely to have fuelled frustration over a premature end to Saturday’s fight.
Sky Sports Boxing’s Johnny Nelson acknowledged the tough test posed by the 33-year-old Sheffield fighter.
“From the off you saw Ben trying to punch through his opponent with every shot – and his opponent just wouldn’t have it. He stuck to him,” said Nelson.
“Ben was getting tired and after two or three rounds I said if he carries on like this in the second half of the fight, he’s going to struggle. Then this happens.
“Now I’m a massive fan of Ben Whittaker. I’ve sang his praises constantly, but he needs to watch the replay before he says anything to anybody about what the injury is.
“We’ve looked at it time and time again and we’ve not seen that right ankle hit anything. We thought it was his back. There needs to be some explanation around it.
“It looks like he was trying to find a way out and I feel bad saying that.”
