British super middleweight champion, Callum Simpson, believes that Ben Whittaker found ‘an easy way out’ of his light heavyweight fight with Liam Cameron in Riyadh on Saturday.
Whittaker was in the midst of his most serious test as a professional when he and Cameron toppled backwards over the ropes and landed awkwardly on the ring apron.
After five intriguing rounds, the fight came to an abrupt halt with Whittaker unable to continue, citing a damaged right leg.
As the M.C announced a technical split draw, the Olympic silver medallist left the arena in a wheelchair.
Cameron – who today announced he had signed with Queensberry Promotions – had quickly turned Whittaker’s heavily hyped showcase into something much more interesting. Nobody was happy with the unsatisfactory outcome.
Simpson, 15-0 (10 KOs), was just feet away from the action and didn’t need to pore over any slow motion, freeze frame replays to come to his own conclusion.
“Other than the first round, I had him losing the rest of the rounds,” he told TalkSport. “I think Liam did the right thing, putting that pressure on him. He unravelled straight from he second round and I had Liam winning it. At the end of the round, for me, it looked like an easy way out.
“Both the fighters went over the ropes. Obviously, one of them went out injured. Or claiming he was injured.
“For me, he was getting beat. He wasn’t having it all his own way. For some reason tonight, Whittaker looked quite slow. His sharpness wasn’t there. The Sky commentators can’t say it but I’ll say it; it really looked like he bottled it.”
Simpson has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past 18 months. He was expertly guided through his apprenticeship on the small halls and has quickly become one of Sky Sports’ brightest hopes. In August, the 27-year-old attracted around 8,000 fans to Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium for his British title fight with Zak Chelli and the successful event guaranteed that he will continue to to be manoeuvred and built into a major attraction.
Earlier in the evening, Simpson voiced his frustration at interviewers constantly asking him about a future fight with Whittaker whilst refusing to mention his name to the man from Wolverhampton.
Simpson still has plenty of business to deal with at super middleweight and he isn’t the type to instigate a public spat but Whittaker’s performance certainly didn’t stoke any fears in the Yorkshireman.
“It’s not that I’m not a fan of him. Whenever I met him at first I was always polite and well mannered and he’s just rubbed me the wrong way I suppose,” Simpson said. “He’s very arrogant. For me, I always try and give time to everybody and be respectful but he’s the complete opposite and I don’t really like that.
“He’s a great dancer when he’s against journeymen and people that aren’t gonna put it on him. I think there’s too much emphasis on how the fight was finished tonight instead of his actual performance. He was underperforming all the way through the fight.
“The power? honestly, I’ve felt proper light heavyweight power and, from watching him, it doesn’t look like he’s got it.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79
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