Callum Simpson Claims Ben Whittaker Took Easy Way Out
Callum Simpson says Ben Whittaker took the easy way out of his light heavyweight fight with Liam Cameron.
Whittaker was set for the toughest test of his career as he took on Cameron on the Beterbiev-Bivol undercard. In the fifth round, Whittaker and Cameron fell over the top ropes and Whittaker claimed he couldn’t continue due to an injured leg.
It was a frustrating end to the fight, which was ruled a technical split draw, and the British super middleweight champion in Simpson thinks Ben Whittaker took the easy way out.
“Other than the first round, I had him losing the rest of the rounds,” Simpson TalkSport (via BoxingScene). “I think Liam did the right thing, putting that pressure on him. He unravelled straight from he second round and I had Liam winning it. At the end of the round, for me, it looked like an easy way out.
“Both the fighters went over the ropes. Obviously, one of them went out injured. Or claiming he was injured,” Simpson added. “For me, he was getting beat. He wasn’t having it all his own way. For some reason tonight, Whittaker looked quite slow. His sharpness wasn’t there. The Sky commentators can’t say it but I’ll say it; it really looked like he bottled it.”
The winner of the fight likely would have been Simpson’s next opponent. Many were intrigued by a potential bout between Callum Simpson and Ben Whittaker, but the champ says he wasn’t impressed with the Brit’s performance.
“It’s not that I’m not a fan of him. Whenever I met him at first I was always polite and well mannered and he’s just rubbed me the wrong way I suppose,” Simpson said. “He’s very arrogant. For me, I always try and give time to everybody and be respectful but he’s the complete opposite and I don’t really like that.
“He’s a great dancer when he’s against journeymen and people that aren’t gonna put it on him. I think there’s too much emphasis on how the fight was finished tonight instead of his actual performance. He was underperforming all the way through the fight. The power? honestly, I’ve felt proper light heavyweight power and, from watching him, it doesn’t look like he’s got it.”
Callum Simpson is 15-0 as a pro and coming off a decision win over Zak Chelli.
