Benjamin Whittaker

Benjamin G. Whittaker (born 6 June 1997)[2] is an English professional boxer. As an amateur he won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. His style is reminiscent of the legendary Pernell Whitaker.

For other people with similar names, see Benjamin Whitaker (disambiguation).
Benjamin Whittaker
Ben Whittaker in 2021
Born (1997-06-06) 6 June 1997
Darlaston, England
Statistics
Weight(s)Light-heavyweight
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights8
Wins8
Wins by KO5
Medal record
Men's Amateur boxing
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
2020 Tokyo Light-heavyweight
European Games
2019 Minsk[lower-alpha 1]Light-heavyweight
Representing  England
World Championships
2019 YekaterinburgLight-heavyweight
EU Championships
2018 ValladolidLight-heavyweight

Amateur career

In 2018, he was picked to represent England in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which took place in Australia's Gold Coast.[3]

In 2019, he was selected to compete at the World Championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia,[4] where he won the bronze medal after losing by unanimous decision to Dilshodbek Ruzmetov in the semi-finals.[5]

In 2021, at the men's light-heavyweight category at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Whittaker won the silver medal against Arlen Lopez, who won gold.

Whittaker tweeted, "You don't win silver, you lose gold. I'm very disappointed - I feel like a failure."

Distraught from falling short of gold, he refused to wear the medal at the ceremony; however, he vowed he would return to win gold, saying: "I'll come back, trust me."

Whittaker's passionate reaction drew mixed reactions, but most people were empathetic of Whittaker's reaction. English media personality Piers Morgan tweeted: "Love this - finally, an athlete at these Olympics prepared to tell the truth about competing in elite sport. Good for you @BenGWhittaker".[6]

Professional career

In 2022 he signed a professional deal with Boxxer, training with SugarHill Steward.[7][8]

2024

On February 3, 2024 at Wembley Arena in London, Whittaker defeated Khalid Graidia via fifth round TKO.[9]

On March 31, 2024, Whittaker fought at The O2 Arena in London, England on the undercard of a British heavyweight title fight between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke. He fought Leon Willings, and beat him comfortably via unanimous decision [10]

Professional boxing record
8 fights 8 wins 0 losses
By knockout 5 0
By decision 3 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
8 Win 8–0 Eworitse Ezra Arenyeka UD 10 15 Jun 2024 Selhurst Park, London, England Won vacant IBF International light-heavyweight title
7 Win 7–0 Leon Willings PTS 8 31 Mar 2024 The O2 Arena, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Khalid Graidia TKO 5 (8) 1:57 3 Feb 2024 OVO Arena, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Stiven Dredhaj KO 4 (8) 0:54 10 Dec 2023 Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England
4 Win 4–0 Vladimir Belujsky TKO 8 (8) 1:49 1 July 2023 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
3 Win 3–0 Jordan Grant TKO 3 (6) 0:13 6 May 2023 Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England
2 Win 2–0 Petar Nosic UD 6 20 Aug 2022 Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
1 Win 1–0 Greg O'Neil KO 2 (6) 0:21 30 Jul 2022 Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, England

Notes
  1. Also designated as the 2019 men's European Championships

References
  1. "Boxing record for Benjamin Whittaker". BoxRec.
  2. "Benjamin Whittaker - England Boxing Team". Commonwealth Games England. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  3. "Commonwealth Games 2018: McCormack twins named in England boxing squad". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  4. "Thirteen boxers from GB Boxing squad selected to compete at 2019 World Championships in Russia". boxing247.com. East Side Boxing. 15 August 2019. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  5. "Thirteen boxers from GB Boxing squad selected to compete at 2019 World Championships in Russia". GB Boxing. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  6. Morgan, Piers [@piersmorgan] (4 August 2021). "'You don't win silver, you lose gold. I'm very disappointed - I feel like a failure. You're in this game to win gold.' Love this - finally, an athlete at these Olympics prepared to tell the truth about competing in elite sport. Good for you @BenGWhittaker. https://t.co/32RKabmDx5" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021 – via Twitter.
  7. "Ben Whittaker: Olympic silver medallist signs long-term promotional agreement with BOXXER". Sky Sports. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  8. "GB Olympic medallist Whittaker to turn pro". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  9. "Caroline Dubois excels in Miranda Reyes battle as Ben Whittaker dazzles again in Khalid Graidia stoppage victory". Sky Sports.
  10. Iskenderov, Parviz (16 February 2024). "Ben Whittaker joins Wardley vs Clarke undercard in London". FIGHTMAG.


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