Boxing Results: Controversy Erupts As Ben Whittaker Secures TKO Victory Over Liam Cameron Amidst Questionable Refereeing

Light heavyweight Ben Whittaker (9-0-1, 6 KOs) scored a second-round technical knockout of veteran Liam Cameron (23-7-1, 10 KOs) in their rematch on Sunday night at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.

The 2020 Olympic Silver medalist Whittaker staggered Cameron with a looping right to the head in the second round. He then went for the kill, throwing wild, clubbing shots with both hands that backed his hurt foe up against the ropes.

Premature End?

Ben unloaded a heavy barrage of punches while Cameron covered up behind the guard. Referee Howard Foster then stepped and waved it off, albeit prematurely. Cameron looked 100% fine because he’d blocked many of the wild punches from Whittaker. The referee, Foster, made a tactical mistake by waving it off, but this is the same referee who prematurely halted the first Carl Froch vs. George Groves fight in 2013.

Whittaker had been mostly jabbing in the fight before the stoppage. Occasionally, he’d throw a right hand, but of his energy was on throwing weak jabs and using his left as an illegal straight arm to prevent Cameron from getting close. Foster never warned Whittaker about that illegal tactic, and he should have because that was his primary defensive strategy to keep Liam from getting close.

In the first round, Cameron was following Whittaker around, looking tense and not letting his hands go. Near the end of the round, he tagged Whittaker with a big right hand that caught him flush. Ben took off running after eating that shot. Moments later, Whittaker grabbed Cameron in a clinch to keep him from continuing his assault.

Out of frustration, he nailed Whittaker with a rabbit punch to get him to let go. The referee immediately stopped the action and gave Cameron a stern warning. That was the first rabbit punch that he’d thrown in the fight. It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal, but Foster was playing strict with the B-side fighter.