British boxer Ben Whittaker was detained at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia following a tense altercation with a fan. The incident occurred just hours after his unusual draw against Liam Cameron at the Kingdom Arena, according to The Sun. Whittaker, 27, had faced Cameron last Saturday, but the fight ended unexpectedly when he suffered a leg injury after falling over the ropes.
After being taken out of the ring in a wheelchair and transported to the hospital, Whittaker showed visible signs of frustration, punching a wall before receiving medical attention. Despite the injury, Ben Whittaker was later seen walking, with his ankle bandaged, through airport security in Riyadh shortly before the incident.
A witness, who was also at the arena and shared the same flight to Heathrow, described what happened. According to their account, a fan wearing a boxing shirt approached Ben Whittaker in the duty-free store to ask for a photo. The visibly upset boxer warned the fan not to take pictures. Then, he grabbed the fan’s phone and smashed it to the ground.
The witness stated that the situation escalated quickly when Whittaker approached the fan, seemingly with the intent to strike. The situation was diffused thanks to the intervention of the boxer’s team, who stepped in between the two, leading to a heated verbal exchange.
Both Whittaker and the fan were detained by airport security, and according to the witness, both men had to temporarily surrender their passports. Whittaker offered to pay for the damaged phone, and after things calmed down, the two exchanged their information. Curiously, they did so while sitting at the same table in a nearby café, completing the process before continuing their journey.
“They literally did it at the Costa or Starbucks in front of everyone,” the witness told The Sun. Despite the incident, the tension between the two diminished quickly. Whittaker, who showed signs of the fight with lumps and bruises on his face, was limping slightly due to his injury, but at the time of the altercation, he didn’t hesitate to run towards the fan.
Later, Whittaker apologized and expressed his gratitude for how they both resolved the situation. “This was a really unfortunate event and I’m grateful to the gentleman that he sat down to talk about it straight afterwards and accepted my apology. In any case, we are in touch about replacing his phone and coming along to a future event as our guest,” Whittaker told The Sun.
It’s important to note that the match between Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron in Saudi Arabia ended anticlimactically when both boxers fell over the ropes at the end of the fifth round. While Cameron managed to get back on his feet, Whittaker remained on the ground, clutching his right leg, which forced the fight to be stopped. The judges couldn’t reach an agreement, resulting in a split decision draw. Whittaker was later wheeled out after the accident.
🚨 WHITTAKER SMASHES FANS PHONE
Ben Whittaker reportedly smashed the phone owned by a fan who went up to him to take a photo.
According to a witness of the incident, Whittaker said ‘don’t take no photos of me’ and snatched the phone out of his hand and smashed it straight on… pic.twitter.com/hG2hnYBGHT
— EverythingBoxing (@EverythingBoxi2) October 14, 2024
📸 Ben Whittaker’s injured ankle pictured at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. pic.twitter.com/jMu6i4ifKP
— EverythingBoxing (@EverythingBoxi2) October 14, 2024
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