Tony Bellew's brutal Ben Whittaker blast as new nickname 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

Former cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew has weighed in on the dramatic end to Ben Whittaker's fight against Liam Cameron, suggesting that the Midlands boxer "didn't fancy" continuing after a fall over the ropes. The undercard bout for the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol showdown ended amid controversy when Olympic silver medallist Whittaker toppled out of the ring and couldn't proceed.

The incident unfolded at the conclusion of the fifth round when Whittaker, entangled with Cameron, got pushed towards the ropes and both men went down. Although Cameron returned to his corner, Whittaker seemed hurt and failed to carry on, leading to a split-decision technical draw being declared.

In unrelated events, Whittaker found himself embroiled in an airport dispute at King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, where officials had to escort him away following an encounter that led to a fan's phone being smashed. Whittaker, sporting a bandaged ankle, was allegedly involved in the skirmish which a fellow passenger witnessed in the duty-free zone on their flight back to Heathrow.

Whittaker had made it clear to a fan at the airport that he was not keen on being photographed, escalating to the point where he is said to have snatched and broken the fans mobile device. Things nearly came to blows before someone from Whittaker's team intervened.

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."