BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – An emotional Ben Whittaker was holding back the tears at the press conference following his victory over Liam Cameron at the second attempt.

Whittaker and Cameron had first met back in October out in Saudi Arabia, with the contest coming to a controversial end. Whittaker looked to be struggling to keep Cameron off and with the pace after five rounds. As the fifth session came to a close, Whittaker and Cameron came together and fell over the top rope onto the canvas beneath them.

Whittaker sustained injuries to his back and right ankle in the fall and was unable to continue, meaning the bout went to the scorecards for a technical decision. The contest was ruled a split decision draw by the three judges seated ringside, much to the distaste of fans back home. They felt Cameron was headed for victory and that Whittaker had made the most of his injuries in order to take the easy way out of the contest.

Whittaker, who is normally a sensation online for his in ring theatrics, was hounded on social media by viewers and pundits for withdrawing from the contest. Whittaker kept quiet on social media after the online abuse, electing to focus on his boxing, and spent time at his local church. He also teamed up with a new trainer in Andy Lee ahead of the rematch with Cameron on Sunday, April 20 in Birmingham, England.

Whittaker made light work of Cameron, forcing a stoppage in just the second round of the contest that was scheduled for 10. Whittaker, who was fighting through tears after his big win, admitted the period after the first fight had been tough.

“If I'm honest. I knew I should be doing that to people like me and Cameron, no disrespect,” said Whittaker. “But it was the six months out, you know, little things. I couldn't really enjoy it too much because of what I'd gone through in life. It didn't really bother me, but it was like even close friends, people that I've classed as family, left me. They had a lot to say about me, but it was a great time to really just go back to the old Ben Whittaker. Before the Olympics, I locked in, I trained hard, and I dedicated myself to the sport. My life was moving, yeah, 100 miles an hour. Like I said, I'd come from a humble household where not a lot of stuff really was given to us.

“So to be in the position of everything coming at me at free will was amazing, it was good. But that six months out really humbled me, got me closer to God. And the people around me, the small people I had around me was just what I needed. I went to the gym daily, took away the cameras, took away the social media, and just got back to the old Ben. I want to thank my church as well, Living Hope, because I went through that door, very quiet, you know, just kept myself to myself. And they just brought something out of me, they brought the old Ben out.

“It's an amazing feeling,” he continued. “And then I got a text from Andy Lee. Like I said, a lot of people were laughing and smiling behind my back, but he came to me on this and said, ‘Come to Ireland, and I truly believe you can get the old Ben Whittaker back.’ I went out there, we spoke honestly to each other, we trained hard. And after a couple of days, he was like, ‘You're going to knock him out. And I was like, ‘No I'm not going to knock him out,’ he was trusting me well.

“And I just believed in him, he believed in me. And I went out there and did what I was supposed to do in Saudi, I was supposed to do that. So it's not really, nothing too big to me. And I give glory to God.”

Whittaker’s contest with Cameron was not short of controversy again, Whittaker hurt Cameron and as he pressed forwards with more right hands to finish the job, the referee Howard Foster stopped the contest. Many felt that the stoppage was a little premature.

“I was thinking, when he was in front of me, I was hurting him, I was hitting him in the right spots,” said Whittaker. “And if the ref didn't jump in, I'm going to keep hitting him until he dropped. His legs went, his knees buckled. And at the end of the day, we spoke to each other. We hugged. I said, ‘Firstly, I'm happy for what's happened in his career,’ because he's been able to change his life. But he said, ‘I've never been hit like that, fair play.’ And I said, ‘Thank you very much.’ But I knew that would happen. And that was it.”