Benjamin G. Whittaker (born 6 June 1997)[2] is an English professional boxer who has held the IBF International light-heavyweight title since June 2024. As an amateur, he won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Benjamin Whittaker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Ben Whittaker in 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 June 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight(s) | Light-heavyweight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | ORTHODOX | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draws | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Amateur career
editIn 2018, he was picked to represent England in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which took place in Australia's Gold Coast.[3]
In 2019, he was selected to compete at the World Championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia,[4] where he won the bronze medal after losing by unanimous decision to Dilshodbek Ruzmetov in the semi-finals.[5]
In 2021, at the men's light-heavyweight category at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Whittaker won the silver medal against Arlen Lopez, who won gold.
Whittaker tweeted, "You don't win silver, you lose gold. I'm very disappointed - I feel like a failure."
Distraught from falling short of gold, he refused to wear the medal at the ceremony; however, he vowed he would return to win gold, saying: "I'll come back, trust me."
Whittaker's passionate reaction drew mixed reactions, but most people were empathetic of Whittaker's reaction. English media personality Piers Morgan tweeted: "Love this - finally, an athlete at these Olympics prepared to tell the truth about competing in elite sport. Good for you @BenGWhittaker".[6]
His amateur record stands at 53–13.
Professional career
editIn 2022 he signed a professional deal with Boxxer, training with SugarHill Steward.[7][8]
2024
editOn 3 February 2024 at Wembley Arena in London, Whittaker defeated Khalid Graidia via fifth round TKO.[9]
On 31 March 2024, Whittaker fought at The O2 Arena in London, England on the undercard of a British heavyweight title fight between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke. He fought Leon Willings, and beat him comfortably via unanimous decision[10]
On 15 June 2024, Whittaker won the IBF International light-heavyweight title after defeating 12–0 Ezra Arenyeka by unanimous decision.
On 12 October 2024, Whittaker made his first defence of his IBF International light-heavyweight title against Liam Cameron on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol. During the bout both boxers became entangled as Whittaker pulled Cameron towards the ropes, resulting in them tumbling over and Whittaker being forced to withdraw due to alleged injury. The fight subsequently went to the judges' scorecards, as per the rules of the British Boxing Board of Control, with both boxers receiving a 58–57 score respectively as well as a 58–58 score, resulting in a split decision technical draw.[11] Two days after the fight, Whittaker was detained by airport security at King Khalid International Airport, after he smashed the phone of a fan who had asked him for a photo. A witness alleged that Whittaker had said: "'Don't take no photos of me' and snatched the phone out of [the fan's] hand and smashed it straight on the floor."[12]
Professional boxing record
edit| 9 fights | 8 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 5 | 0 |
| By decision | 3 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Draw | 8–0–1 | Liam Cameron | TD | 5 (10), 3:00 | 12 Oct 2024 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Retained IBF International light-heavyweight title; For vacant WBO Global light-heavyweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Eworitse Ezra Arenyeka | UD | 10 | 15 Jun 2024 | Selhurst Park, London, England | Won vacant IBF International light-heavyweight title |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Leon Willings | UD | 8 | 31 Mar 2024 | The O2 Arena, London, England | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Khalid Graidia | TKO | 5 (8) 1:57 | 3 Feb 2024 | OVO Arena, London, England | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Stiven Dredhaj | KO | 4 (8) 0:54 | 10 Dec 2023 | Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Vladimir Belujsky | TKO | 8 (8) 1:49 | 1 July 2023 | Manchester Arena, Manchester, England | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jordan Grant | TKO | 3 (6) 0:13 | 6 May 2023 | Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Petar Nosic | UD | 6 | 20 Aug 2022 | Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Greg O'Neil | KO | 2 (6) 0:21 | 30 Jul 2022 | Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England |
Notes
edit- ^ Also designated as the 2019 men's European Championships
References
edit- ^ "Boxing record for". BoxRec.
- ^ "Benjamin Whittaker - England Boxing Team". Commonwealth Games England. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games 2018: McCormack twins named in England boxing squad". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "Thirteen boxers from GB Boxing squad selected to compete at 2019 World Championships in Russia". boxing247.com. East Side Boxing. 15 August 2019. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "Thirteen boxers from GB Boxing squad selected to compete at 2019 World Championships in Russia". GB Boxing. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ Morgan, Piers [@piersmorgan] (4 August 2021). "'You don't win silver, you lose gold. I'm very disappointed - I feel like a failure. You're in this game to win gold.' Love this - finally, an athlete at these Olympics prepared to tell the truth about competing in elite sport. Good for you @BenGWhittaker. https://t.co/32RKabmDx5" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Ben Whittaker: Olympic silver medallist signs long-term promotional agreement with BOXXER". Sky Sports. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "GB Olympic medallist Whittaker to turn pro". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "Caroline Dubois excels in Miranda Reyes battle as Ben Whittaker dazzles again in Khalid Graidia stoppage victory". Sky Sports.
- ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (16 February 2024). "Ben Whittaker joins Wardley vs Clarke undercard in London". FIGHTMAG.
- ^ "Boxing: Ben Whittaker fight ends in draw after boxer falls over the ropes". BBC Sport. 12 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ Glinski, George (14 October 2024). "Ben Whittaker 'smashes fan's phone' after being filmed hobbling at airport". talkSPORT. Retrieved 15 October 2024.