Watch as two boxers tumble out of the ring to end bizarre light-heavyweight dust-up prematurely

-Credit: (Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
-Credit: (Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)


The light-heavyweight showdown between Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron was ended abruptly after a bizarre tussle in the ring that saw both boxers fall out of the ring.

Undefeated former Olympic star Whitaker went into the bout on the undercard of the undisputed world title clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol as a heavy favourite against Cameron, but saw his chances of claiming a ninth straight victory end in dramatic circumstances after both fighters tumbled over the ropes in round five. The referee immediately called a halt to the contest, with the three judges at ringside then scoring the fight as a split draw. One judge scored it 58-57 in favour of Whittaker, the second had it for Cameron by the same margin, and the third judge had them level at 58-58.

Whittaker, 27, was hurt so badly by the bizarre incident that he had to leave the venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in a wheelchair. The 2020 Olympic Games silver medalist was quickly taken to hospital in a wheelchair but a gutted Cameron - who had won 23 of his previous 31 bouts - was adamant that his opponent was simply looking for a way out.

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The 33-year-old said: "His corner said 'stay down and pretend you're hurt', allegedly. He didn’t want no more. He gave me his last 30 seconds and he had nothing left. The kid was knackered from round two. But look, I definitely beat him. 100% [he was looking for a way out], you can see it on camera. I think we deserve a rematch.

"I think I was hard done by. He's the golden boy and I've came here and ripped up the script."

Sky Sports pundit and ex-cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson also believes Whittaker got away with one on the night. "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", he added.

"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. Then this happens.

"Now I'm a massive fan of Ben Whittaker. I've sang his praises constantly, but he needs to watch the replay before he says anything to anybody about what the injury is. We've looked at it time and time again and we've not seen that right ankle hit anything. We thought it was his back.

"There needs to be some explanation around it. It looks like he was trying to find a way out and I feel bad saying that."