Ben Whittaker has been labeled “classless” for his intense celebration after stopping bitter rival Liam Cameron on Sunday. What he emphatically denies is intentionally spitting on his opponent’s cornermen.

Whittaker, a light heavyweight from West Bromwich, England, gained a measure of revenge against his domestic rival with a conclusive second-round technical knockout of Cameron at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.

In the heat of the moment, Whittaker ran across the ring to celebrate – and to taunt the trainers of Cameron. Whittaker stuck his head through the ropes and nearly got slapped by Cameron’s trainer, Grant Smith, for his efforts. David Coldwell, who was calling the fight for Sky Sports, called the incident “classless,” but Whittaker said that any saliva that was sent flying was purely accidental.

“If a bit of dribble came out, dribble came out,” Whittaker, a 2020 Olympic silver medalist and now 9-0-1 (6 KOs) in the pros, told Sky Sports afterward.

“They are portraying me as a bad guy, but I work very hard. I was roaring like a lion."

Grant Smith confirmed to reporters afterwards that Whittaker did not spit at him or his team.

Andy Lee, the former WBO middleweight titleholder turned Whittaker trainer, said his boxer’s reaction was a product of his having to tolerate nonstop criticism following the first fight with Cameron, which ended in a technical draw after Whittaker was unable to continue upon suffering an injury when both fell out of the ring. Whittaker detractors labeled him “Quittaker” as a result.

“The barrage of insults he’s had to put up with since the first fight with Cameron … not many people could put up with what he’s gone through,” said Lee. “His emotions are bound to get carried away. He is an emotional guy and he did lose control, but this is a champion.”

Whittaker had more zingers on deck in his post-fight remarks, poking fun at the controversy over whether the fight should be a 10-rounder or a 12-rounder. “I should’ve done the 12, shouldn’t I?” said Whittaker.

Despite the bad blood between the two over the past six months, Whittaker managed to show respect to Cameron, who dropped to 12-7-1 (10 KOs) with his first stoppage loss.

“Fair play to Liam, we hugged in the ring and he said, ‘No one’s ever hit me like that,’” said Whittaker.

“I’m still flashy, I’m still swaggy, but I was very disciplined.”

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.