‘He’s in a bad way’ – Ben Whittaker’s promoter gives return update and says he’ll make ‘huge changes’ after star was wheeled out of ring

Ben Shalom believes Ben Whittaker’s setback against Liam Cameron will ‘be the making’ of his boxing career.

Whittaker is considered one of the sport’s brightest talents, but found himself in a dog fight against domestic level fighter Cameron on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol.

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It ended in devastating circumstances as he was forced to leave the ring in a wheelchair after a nasty fall for the pair saw him come off worse, and the result was declared a draw.

Many are now calling for an immediate sequel, but ‘The Surgeon’ will need to recover from the neck and ankle injuries he sustained.

Shalom has discussed the disastrous night, insisting that Whittaker has been left frustrated by the scenes that unfolded in Riyadh.

“It was a bad night for Ben,” Shalom told talkSPORT Drive. “I have never seen Ben Whittaker perform like that.

“I knew from the first round he wasn’t right. His energy levels, his timing and he was getting hit with shots he never normally gets caught with.

“Ben Whittaker in the right mindset should be dealing with Liam Cameron no problem, so huge changes for him now.

“I feel for him in a way. He has become one of the most recognisable faces overnight, but he needs to get things right in the ring.

“But I believe that it will be the making of him. He is in a bad way and he is a perfectionist.

“He will make of this exactly what he should and he will be back.”

Shalom was then asked when Whittaker will be able to return to the ring after his injuries.

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He added: “I believe we will see that rematch but first he has to go through a rehab process.

“I don’t know [how long] yet. He’s not going to fight this year. He was planned to return in December but he won’t be available then.

“Hopefully we will see him return early in the year as we don’t want this to stretch on too long.

“He is still getting assessments and is now back in the UK but we will see what happens.”

Whittaker will now likely need to secure a win over Cameron to move back on track, with ‘Benzo’ becoming one of the sport’s hottest properties.

His rival, Cameron, has accused him of ‘quitting’ and has demanded a rematch take place as soon as it can be made.

“I just couldn’t believe all what was going on, there was a game plan to slowly break him down,” he said to talkSPORT.

“He was calling me slow and saying my body was like a potato, and it’s not looking good for him now.

“I feel like I’ve ruined his persona and career. He said he was going to make me a meme and now he’s the meme.

“Ben needs the rematch, it has to happen. There is no way out of it.

“Fans are going to demand it and all of his followers have given me the love and support.”