A light-heavyweight boxing match between British fighters Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron ended in a draw on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Both boxers tumbled over the ropes, and out of the ring towards the end of the fifth round, abruptly ending the fight.
Whittaker left the arena in a wheelchair after sustaining a leg injury and was led to the hospital for examination. During the fight's last moments, Cameron landed on top of Whittaker as they fell, and Whittaker couldn't stand up afterward. The abruptly ended fight was declared a technical split draw with the scorecards showing Whittaker leading 58-57 on one, Cameron leading 58-57 on another, and the final scorecard tied at 58-58.
The boxing match took place on the undercard of the undisputed light-heavyweight world title bout between Artur Beterbieve and Dmitry Bivol. Bivol had been a WBA champion, while Beterbiev had been a WBC, WBO, and IBF champion.
British Boxing Board of Control Stops Whittaker Fight Over “Accidental Injury”
The event is overseen by the jurisdiction of the British Boxing Board of Control, which ruled a stop to the fight, citing an "accidental injury" as the legal ground for the match outcome. While judges read out the scorecards, Whittaker was the only fighter in the ring, apparently frustrated about the upcoming announcement.
"Never had a promotional deal in my life and I tried my best to win that today and I think I deserved that win," Cameron added. Whittaker received treatment at the medical tent inside Kingdom Arena for an injury to his right leg before being taken to the hospital.
Whittaker Found a “Way Out”?
In his assessment of the match, Cameron reported. “He (Whittaker) had nothing left. Kid was knackered from round two. I definitely beat him. I don’t get a fair share (in fights). What more do I have to do?” When asked if he felt Whittaker sought a “way out” of the bout, Cameron replied strongly in the affirmative, “Yeah. 100%. You can see it on camera. I don’t want to be critical of him.”
Meanwhile, Cameron isn’t the only one who thinks that Whittaker was possibly looking for an escape route from the bout. Johnny Nelson, Sky Sports expert, comments on the situation after reviewing replays of the incident.
Nelson observes, "From the off, you saw Ben trying to punch through his opponent with every shot – and his opponent just wouldn't have it. He stuck to him. Ben was getting tired and after two or three rounds I said if he carries on like this in the second half of the fight, he's going to struggle."
Whittaker did struggle in the fight's second half and Nelson thinks those struggles made him seek an escape route from losing the bout. "We've looked at it time and again and we've not seen that right ankle hit anything. We thought it was his back. There needs to be some explanation for it. It looks like he was trying to find a way out and I feel bad saying that."
Wrapping Up
Whittaker and Cameron's fights ended in a dramatic draw as both boxers tumbled out of the ring on Saturday. Whittaker appeared injured in the leg before officials declared a draw citing “accidental injury” reasons.