One of the biggest news stories coming out of British boxing in the past week has been the dispute over the number of scheduled rounds in the upcoming Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron rematch, which is scheduled for Sunday, April 20, in Birmingham, England.
“What happened is we signed for a 12-round contract,” Cameron told Uncrowned and DAZN’s “Ariel X Ade Show.” “When I [was] signing [the contract], I thought, ‘This is a bit strange.’ [Whittaker was] tired after five [rounds] the last time, and this is [for] a 12 [round fight], it [doesn’t] make sense.
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“Then obviously, a week later, it happened. [Promoter BOXXER was] saying, ‘Can we do 10 [rounds]? There’s been a mishap [with the contract], and will Liam do a 10 [round fight] now?’ And we’ve been saying no.”
Ben Shalom’s BOXXER is understood to have sent Whittaker and Cameron contracts for a rematch with a different number of rounds specified for the fight. Whittaker signed for a 10-round contest, while the bout agreement Cameron inked for the second meeting detailed the pair would clash over 12 rounds. Negotiations remain ongoing between Cameron and BOXXER to reduce the rounds in the fight to 10.
Whittaker (8-0-1, 5 KOs) and Cameron (23-6-1, 10 KOs) previously fought on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 1 undercard last October. The bout ended in dramatic fashion when both men toppled over the ropes and outside the ring during the fifth round. As a result of the fall, Whittaker was unable to continue and the bout was halted.
Since four rounds had been completed, the fight went to a technical decision. One judge favored Whittaker by a point, another scored it for Cameron by the same margin, and the third judge had it even, resulting in a split draw.
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Whittaker entered the fight as one of the most talked-about prospects in boxing, but after five rounds with Cameron, questions arose aplenty about Whittaker’s potential in the sport. Whittaker’s inability to continue also prompted criticism from doubters, with some observers suggesting the 2020 Olympic silver medalist was looking for a way out when the pair went toppling over the ring ropes.
This resulted in the derisive nickname “Quittaker” trending on social media following the bout.
“I can remember thinking, I’m going to start [going through the gears], he’s unraveling — I’m going to stop him,” Cameron said of the fifth round. “So I [stepped on the] gas a bit and hit him with some body shots, and he fell off balance, and he’s falling [onto] me. Then he’s hitting me low, he’s holding a lot, he’s spitting his gum shield out, and [the fall out of the ring] just happened so fast.
“It’s like when you’re having a hard spar sometimes, it’s horrible, [isn’t] it? And you’re tired — and that’s what it [was] like for Ben. He didn’t want [any] part [of the fight], his emotions got to him, he [was] looking all over. I study body language and stuff — I watched everything of that fight, and he [was] like a rabbit in the headlights. Even in [the] corner, he got [the] shock of his life.”
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Cameron, 34, held the Commonwealth middleweight title from 2017-18 but was stripped of the belt after testing positive for cocaine, which resulted in a four-year ban from the sport. “Cannonball” Cameron returned to the ring in October 2023 and had three straightforward wins before dropping a split decision to Lyndon Arthur last June.
After the loss to Arthur, he was given a fight with Britain’s golden boy, Whittaker. Whittaker was expected to beat Cameron with flying colors, with plans already in place for Whittaker to headline an NBC broadcast in the U.S. eight weeks afterward — until Cameron tore up the script.
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“I’ve 1744250653 got confidence in myself,” Cameron said. “It can’t be every time that people are having bad performances, they’re [taking] me lightly. It was the same with [Arthur] before Ben. He [supposedly] took me lightly. I [was] there to get beat both times, stopped, and looked good against.
“But I’ve been boxing [for] years. I’ve done everything as an amateur apart from [going to the] Olympic Games. I [was] on the GB podium [squad], and I turned it down and went pro. I’ve got pedigree, I am a good fighter. I am, it’s been proven now. I just don’t like the fact that people [are] saying, ‘Oh, it’s an off night [for Whittaker].’
“That [was] Ben’s time to look good in Saudi. He had a fight penciled in for December, headlining in America. There’s no way he took me lightly. He [wasn’t] showboating or anything — that’s all excuses. How long ago was that? [Was] that four years ago [the 2020 Olympics — which took place in 2021]? That form is gone now. [It’s been] four years [since Whittaker was] fighting at [the] elite level. He’s had shoulder injuries, he’s not boxed the best people. What’s he done in [those] four years of boxing professionally?”
Liam Cameron (right) and Ben Whittaker meet in a high-stakes rematch on April 20. (Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing/Getty Images)
(Mark Robinson via Getty Images)
Cameron doesn’t buy into the idea that Whittaker underestimated the challenge he presented. Instead he believes he exposed Whittaker in their first fight. Whittaker has since changed trainers and now will go into the rematch with Andy Lee in his corner, knowing the fight represents a must-win situation.
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A highly motivated Cameron is out to prove his showing in the first fight with Whittaker was no fluke. For Cameron, his rivalry with Whittaker will likely be what he’s best remembered for when all is said and done, and he hopes to be remembered for a win.
“This is life-changing for me,” Cameron said. “This is mega, mega-stardom for me in my own head. This is everything for me. This is, in a way, life or death in boxing.
“Do you know what it is? It’s one fight at a time [but] this is how much I want to win this fight — if I could win [just] one more [fight] in my life, and lose every single one of them [after that], it’d be this one.”
Earning a living in boxing without being signed to a TV promoter is an almost impossible task. Cameron was picked up by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions after his performance in Riyadh in October and will be well compensated for the Whittaker rematch later this month. And with BOXXER’s contract blunder regarding the rounds of the fight, the purse will likely be nudged up again.
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A win for Cameron would earn him more opportunities on the big stage, but even a respectable defeat would keep him on televised cards for the foreseeable future. The Sheffielder has changed the trajectory of his career off the back of a draw.
“It depends [on] the person you ask. [But] for me, it’s mega,” Cameron said of his purse for the Whittaker rematch. “Unbelievable. It’s like, ‘Wow.’ But to someone who’s been there and done it and got the money and stuff, it’s probably nothing. To me, this is everything. I couldn’t wish for a better comeback in my life, and I just thank everyone who’s got behind me. It touches me in a [warm] way.”
