Lyndon Arthur calls Ben Whittaker a “clown” and says he can’t back up his talk

Lyndon Arthur has been keeping a watching brief on the British light heavyweight division over the past few months, but now the former IBO champion is ready to get involved again. 

Arthur has only boxed once since dropping a decision to then-WBA champion Dmitry Bivol last December. In June he battled his way to a hard-fought win over Liam Cameron, a victory that has increased in significance given recent events.

He had been linked to a fight with Dan Azeez but the Londoner instead boxed Lewis Edmondson for the British 175lb title and lost a debatable 12-round decision.

This weekend Arthur, 24-2 (16 KOs), told Boxing Now that he is ready and willing to get back in the mix with the high-profile names at the top of the domestic rankings. He is just waiting for a name and a date. 

“It’s getting a bit slow now. I need to fight but I’m sure something will come up. I just want to be in big fights moving forward with some of the top names in Britain,” Arthur said.

“Frustrating? Yeah, you could say that. Every boxer will know that when they’ve got nothing on it’s hard to stay focused.”

At the start of this year not many people would have predicted that Cameron would end up playing such a significant role in the British light heavyweight picture. 

His determined, aggressive display against Arthur earned him a fight with the unbeaten Olympic silver medallist and viral sensation Ben Whittaker, which took place on the undercard of the undisputed 175lb title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. 

On paper, the fight was an inspired piece of matchmaking. Whittaker was handed the opportunity to improve on Arthur’s performance and display his skills on the biggest stage imaginable against a solid fighter who couldn’t hope to match him in terms of technical ability. As it turned out, Cameron didn’t need to be anything but solid.

After a predictably brisk start, Whittaker began to come apart and looked to be in grave danger of losing his unbeaten record when the pair tumbled backwards over the ropes in the fifth round. Whittaker was unable to continue and left the arena in a wheelchair as the MC announced a technical draw. 

During the build-up to the fight, Whittaker had poured scorn on Arthur, describing him as ‘washed up’ and declaring that if he boxed the Mancunian, it would be ‘smoke season’.

As is his way, Arthur listened, bit his tongue and waited to see how things played out. Now he has decided it is time to speak. 

“What a clown Ben Whittaker is. I don’t like to chat shit about boxers, it’s never really been my style of thing, but he was chatting a lot of shit about me,” he said.

“I’d fight Ben Whittaker, obviously. He’s just talked a lot of shit, hasn’t he? It’s mad because he’s got to go out now and absolutely stop Liam Cameron to have a bit of something; to have a bit of a leg to stand on. 

“He’s just gone silent, hasn’t he? That’s what you get. When you chat too much shit, you have to back it up.”

Arthur has been a significant name on the light heavyweight scene for years. He has shared a win and a loss with Anthony Yarde, collected the Commonwealth and IBO titles, and challenged one of the pound for pound best in Bivol. He rarely calls out other fighters and feels that Whittaker embarrassed himself by being so vocal so early in his career.

“Sunny Edwards, Prince Naseem, Floyd Mayweather. This kind of man will chat shit and they back it up. He’s just got to hold it now. He’s talked shit. He talked himself into a fight with Liam Cameron or whatever and Liam Cameron’s a lot better than people think he is,” he said.

“They forget about his career before his break. He had a good fight with me and Ben thought, ‘Lyndon’s washed’. That’s what he said: ‘Lyndon’s washed’ and ‘I’ll go and do the same.’ No, you got battered. Clown. And you were getting stopped. 

“I can’t be that washed, you know what I mean?”

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