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Liam Cameron has accused opponent Ben Whittaker of staying down following the bizarre end to their fight when both fighters got tangled and flipped over the ropes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Competing on the undercard of the undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dimitrii Bivol, Cameron and Whittaker were engaged in a close and competitive fight when the pair became entangled towards the end of the fifth round.
Both fighters then tumbled over the ropes and outside the ring, taking a heavy fall and leaving Whittaker with a serious-looking leg injury and unable to continue. The former Olympic silver medalist left the Kingdom Arena in a wheelchair and taken to hospital. The fight was sent to the scorecards and announced as a draw.
However, Cameron has claimed that Whittaker was instructed by his team to stay down having seen the fight slip away from their fighter, who was a massive favorite to win. Instead, Cameron had taken control in the previous few rounds and looked to be on track for a shock victory.
“His corner said, ‘Stay down and pretend you’re hurt.’ Allegedly,” Cameron told TNT after the fight. “I want either a rematch or something better. Ben deserves the rematch. I think I was a bit hard done by. He’s the golden boy here, and I’ve just ripped the script up.”
One judge ruled in favor of Whittaker 58-57 while a second gave the fight to Cameron by the same score. It was then ruled as a draw when the third judge scored it 58-58. Cameron, who awaited the scores alone in the ring, was left bemused that he had been denied a precious victory having rebuilt his career following a five-year ban for recreational drug use.
“He didn’t want no more,” Cameron told DAZN. “He was very tired. He gave 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.”
The incident and drawn result is the first setback in the early career of Whittaker, who has generated a huge amount of interest for his stylish and showboating style that has drawn comparisons to the great ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed.
It remains to be seen the severity of the injury, but if it’s serious enough to sideline Whittaker for the next year or so, he will hope it does not negatively impact his athletic style.
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