Ben Whittaker laughs when it’s put to him that individuals desirous to see him get knocked out will solely add to the ticket gross sales and pay-per-view numbers sooner or later.
“That’s the crazy thing about the sport, the more people that want to see you lose means they’ll come out in force,” said the rising light-heavyweight star.
Whittaker, 26, is becoming boxing’s marmite man thanks to his showboating but there are no plans to relent on his dancing ways in the ring. The West Midlands fighter was at it again as he played around with Frenchman Khalid Graidia at Wembley Arena on Saturday night.
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Whittaker even got in the ref’s bad books for one elaborate move which saw him wrongly turn his back on his overmatched foe. It brought about a mixed reaction.
Some ex-professionals were enraged, some loved it. The same could be said for the response from the fans in the arena and at home.
It was, at times, a little crass given Whittaker is an Olympic silver medallist and way too good for someone of Graidia’s level, who came to the ring with a losing record. But in the age of viral clips and the hunger for numbers online as much as bums on seats, Whittaker is getting attention.
“I don’t disagree with people who criticise me for it,” he said a couple of days after going unbeaten in six bouts as a pro. “Everyone has their own opinion, everyone has their own style of boxing but the only thing I will disagree with is the claims that I’m being disrespectful, I’m not disrespectful.
“You don’t see me effing and blinding and belittling my opponent. After the fight I always congratulate them and lift up their hand. It’s just my style.”
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(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: Sky Sports)
Whittaker actually has fashion within the ring, his flamboyance is encapsulating however his expertise brings out frustration that he’s not transferring faster within the skilled ranks given his novice pedigree. It’s now coming as much as three years since he reached the Olympic ultimate and solely got here residence with silver as a result of he met the sensational Cuban Arlen Lopez.
Whittaker’s displeasure on the color of his medal on the Olympic podium didn’t win him too many followers, nor did some feedback about himself which may come throughout as overconfidence. While his showboating may additionally flip some off, even when many do get pleasure from it.
“Some of the greats have done it back in the day and, even now in the present times, Billy Joe Saunders has done it, Tyson Fury has done it and, in MMA, Conor McGregor has done it,” mentioned Whittaker, who’s skilled by Fury’s coach SugarHill Steward. “They didn’t get the backlash I did. It is just part of the game, everyone has their opinion and it is just my style.”
Whittaker doesn’t plan the moves as he jokes when he tries some of them in the gym he ends up tripping over himself. The Darlaston native puts it down to his ADHD, a condition which caused him to struggle at school but was helped by boxing burning off energy as a teenager.
“To be honest I’m not thinking, it must be the ADHD taking over,” mentioned Whittaker, who additionally produces music underneath the identify of ‘Benzo’. “There’s method to the madness. I do know what I’m doing.
“It is a flow state and, when I’m in that flow, so many things can happen, my shots, my angles, when I’m in that flow I feel the best ever. I do know there’s a game plan and I do come back to it.”
Whittaker is now discovering some exercise after accidents stalled his preliminary begin underneath Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom and he has fought 4 occasions since May, even when the opposition hasn’t been good. There are excessive hopes for him turning into a giant star underneath the Sky Sports banner and he wouldn’t be in need of affords if he was to turn into a free agent both.
Of course, there may be loads of perception in himself that he’s on the trail to the highest. He was on the undercard of Joshua Buatsi’s win over Dan Azeez on Saturday night time and the West Midlands star reckons he has the flexibility to face both now regardless of that being a world-title eliminator in his division.
But the fighter nicknamed ‘The Surgeon’ is completely happy to continue learning underneath the steering of Steward and his godfather Joby Clayton, who has skilled him since he was a child. “The sky is the restrict,” he says.
(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: Getty Images)
“Since I was a young boy, my coach and godfather Joby Clayton, said he wants me to become a Hall of Famer and that’s what I want to become.”
If he was to make it to Canastota then he would observe within the footsteps of Prince Naseem Hamed, a boxer he’s being likened to due to his showboating abilities. “He’s a legend,” mentioned Whittaker in regards to the Sheffield star, who dazzled within the Nineteen Nineties at featherweight to extensive acclaim.
“He’s done big things in the sport, I’m friends with his sons but, at the end of the day I’m me, I’m trying to be myself. When I had my first fight with Adidas, I wore the leopard print in homage to him but it is sticking now and I don’t like it. I’m Ben Whittaker and I’m me. I truly believe when my career is done I’ll have more accolades.”
So again to the showboating and the accusation from his critics that when he steps up at school he gained’t be capable to act the clown in entrance of opponents. “That’s what I’m excited to show,” he added.
“In the Olympics, in the semi-final against the Russian, I was doing it there. That is how I am. Sparring guys, sparring world title contenders, top 10 guys, I’ve done it to them. When I do get to that level and I’m not supposed to do it and I do it then what can they say then?”