The fight between Liam Cameron and Benjamin Whittaker ended in a draw, with both British light heavyweights knocked out in the fifth round.
In the ring at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 12, Whittaker started the fight better. He showed his strength in precise punches, forcing Cameron to defend and constantly move to keep his distance.
After a warm-up period, Cameron gradually got into the rhythm and put on a lot of pressure. With about 10 seconds left in round five, the 34-year-old pushed Whittaker to the corner of the ring, forcing his opponent to hug him to limit the punches.
Cameron did not stop, still moving forward, while Whittaker seemed to have no more strength to stand, causing both of them to fall out of the ring.
Cameron quickly got up, wanting to continue the fight, but Whittaker was injured and complained of severe pain in his foot. Cameron’s corner accused his opponent of “exaggerating” the injury, but the medical team checked the situation, removed his shoes, and sent Whittaker for an X-ray.
Whittaker was forced to leave the ring in a wheelchair, ending the fight prematurely. The judges scored the bout 58-57 for Whittaker, 58-57 for Cameron, and 58-58, resulting in a draw.
“Whittaker was out of shape. He was exhausted in the second round,” Cameron said angrily. “I haven’t had any endorsements since the beginning of my career. I worked hard to win today and I deserved it. Whittaker wanted to get out, look at that situation.”
CompuBox stats show the opposite, with Whittaker winning across the board. He landed 271 punches over five rounds, landing 101 of them for a 37.3% strike rate, while Cameron landed 266 punches, landing 89 for a 33.5% strike rate.
Cameron turned professional in October 2009, winning 23, losing six, drawing one and having one no contest. He held the Commonwealth middleweight title from 2017 to 2018 and challenged for the super-middleweight title from 2015 to 2016.
Whittaker has eight wins and one draw in his professional career. The 27-year-old is known for his showmanship, and was criticized for disrespecting boxing when he danced and mocked the sport during his technical knockout win over Slovakian Vladimir Belujsky in July 2023.
As an amateur, Whittaker represented England at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
In 2019, he won bronze after losing to Dilshodbek Ruzmetov on referee points in the semifinals at the World Championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia. In 2021, at the Tokyo Olympics, Whittaker lost to Arlen Lopez in the lightweight final and received silver.