Ben Whittaker sent clear warning before smashing fan's phone after airport clash

Ben Whittaker clashed with a fan at an airport in Saudi Arabia as he smashed his phone after warning him against taking pictures with security having to step in

Ben Whittaker had to be ushered away by airport security after a fan's phone was smashed.

IBF light-heavyweight champion was spotted walking through security at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh late at night with his ankle bandaged following his bout on Saturday. A witness, who attended at the fight and happened to be on the same Saudi Airlines flight to Heathrow, said he was in duty free when he saw the confrontation.

Whittaker had urged a fan not to take photos of him as the pair walked through the airport, and was later said to have grabbed and smashed the phone as tempers flared. It is claimed Whittaker looked set to throw a punch, before one of his team stepped in.

The witness told The Sun : "I spotted Ben Whittaker coming through security and then a fan who had a boxing T-shirt on went up with his phone and went to take a photo. Ben said 'don’t take no photos of me' and snatched the phone out of his hand and smashed it straight on the floor.

"Ben stepped towards him, looked like he was gonna punch him and some of Ben’s team jumped in between them and it got really heated - they were shouting at each other."

Both Whittaker and the fan initially had their passports taken away as security stepped in. The duo then wrote down the details as they were ushered into a coffee shop before parting on good terms. Whittaker has also offered to replace the phone.

He said: “This was a really unfortunate event and I’m grateful to the gentleman that he sat down to talk about it straight afterwards and accepted my apology. Unfortunately I can’t comment further on the alleged video recording as I have not seen it. In any case, we are in touch about replacing his phone and coming along to a future event as our guest.”

The former Olympian was still digesting his drawn bout with Liam Cameron at the Kingdom Arena on Saturday. The controversial result came after Whittaker had injured his leg after toppling over the ropes. He was taken out in a wheelchair before punching a wall in frustration prior to being taken to hospital.

Cameron said: "He [Whittaker] had nothing left. Kid was knackered from round two. I definitely beat him. I don't get a fair share [in fights]. What more do I have to do? Never had a promotional deal in my life and I tried my best to win that today and I think I deserved the win."

He was then asked if he felt Whittaker was looking for a "way out" of the fight - to which he replied: "Yeah. 100%. You can see it on camera. I don't want to be critical of him."