Tony Bellew's brutal Ben Whittaker blast as new nickname is dished out

Ben Whittaker was unable to continue his fight against Liam Cameron after falling over the ropes in the fifth round of their bout last weekend, and many have had their say

Tony Bellew has hinted that Midlands fighter Ben Whittaker may have "didn't fancy" continuing his bout against Liam Cameron after a dramatic moment saw him topple over the ropes. The fight, which was part of the undercard for Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol, ended amid controversy when Whittaker, who clinched an Olympic silver medal, fell over the ropes and couldn't proceed.

The incident unfolded at the close of the fifth round, with Whittaker entangled with Cameron, who then nudged him towards the ropes, leading to both boxers tumbling down. While Cameron managed to return to his corner, Whittaker seemed in pain and was unable to go on, culminating in a split-decision technical draw.

In another event, Whittaker found himself in a scuffle at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, necessitating security to lead him away following an episode where a fan's phone was broken. Whittaker was spotted with his ankle wrapped up, and an eyewitness on the same flight back to Heathrow recounted witnessing the fracas in the duty-free zone.

Following the incident on Saturday night, opinions have been divided on whether Whittaker quit or not. Former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew has offered his perspective on the matter, reports the Mirror.

Speaking to Safest Casino Sites, he said: "It was a strange one. I thought Whittaker started really well but Cameron absorbed everything and then it looked like it was only going one way. He (Whittaker) didn't fancy it. It was a nasty fall and it looked like he landed on his head. I didn't quite get the leg injury thing. I thought nothing really happened to his leg. I didn't experience the fall but it's not a good look. At this stage of your career you want to fight and finish your opponent, but it wasn't going his way."

Speaking on DAZN following the bout, Cameron expressed his belief that Whittaker was seeking an exit, stating: "He [Whittaker] didn't want no more. He were very tired. He give me his last 30 seconds. He had nothing left. Kid was knackered from round two. But look, I definitely beat him. I don't get a fair share. I got a split decision lost in the last fight. I just had a draw this one. What more do I have to do? I've never had a promotional deal in my life, and I tried to do best today to get that win, and I thought I fully deserved it. Yeah [Whittaker wanted a way out], you could see it on camera. I don't want to be critical to him, because no one gave me a chance. No one. It wasn't the Liam Cameron show, I didn't have no cameras on me, following me, just my small team."

In a social media post on X - once known as Twitter - Cameron didn’t hold back in expressing his views about Whittaker. The post read: "#Quittaker," paired with an image of the fighter sporting a bandaged ankle.

Fans quickly engaged with the contentious issue online, as one observer posted: "I was there. We all said same thing at same time. Whittaker s*** it."

Another added: "Whittaker bottled it."

Meanwhile, a third commented: "If Quittaker is in a bad mood after falling out of the ring. God knows what he would have been like when you knocked him out."

And another fan remarked: "Quittaker is broken! He's never taking the rematch."