Ben Whittaker suffered an ankle sprain and might have aggravated an old neck injury while falling out of the ring on Saturday night, it has been reported.
The by now infamous incident, which saw the British starlet tightly grab hold of opponent Liam Cameron before they both tumbled over the top rope, led to the light heavyweight contest being stopped and going to the cards.
A draw was subsequently ruled as Whittaker, who indicated he could not continue, left the arena in a wheelchair. Cameron, a hefty underdog, has accused Whittaker of initiating the fall and then looking for a way out.
An Olympic silver medallist who has thrilled and annoyed fans in equal measure with his showboating antics, Whittaker was in the midst of the toughest fight of his 8-0-1 (5 KOs) career when the dramatic fall occurred.
The 27-year-old’s promoter, Ben Shalom, last night told Sky Sports: “Following the unprecedented incident that ended the match on Saturday night, Ben Whittaker is undergoing further assessments on his neck as a previous injury was aggravated by the fall.
“He also experienced an ankle sprain and will begin a rehab process as soon as he is cleared by doctors and is determined to be back in the ring as soon as possible.”
Very much in the ascendency when the contest concluded, the 23-6-1 (10 KOs) Cameron is not convinced. “He 100 per cent quit,” he told TalkSport today. “I was putting pressure on him but I thought, ‘I’m not going to give him everything yet. I’m going to break his heart and show him this is pro boxing.’
“He basically dragged me onto the ropes. You can see him flip his head back… He was so exhausted. I hit him with a body shot before that happened. And I could feel it really take everything out of him.”
Read the full article here
