- The British boxer had to settle for a technical split-decision draw
- He was later seen by an onlooker walking through Riyadh airport
- After the incident, he apologized and offered to pay for a replacement phone
British boxer Ben Whittaker furiously smashed a fan’s phone at an airport in Saudi Arabia before being whisked away by security, a witness claims.
Whittaker, 27, was spotted walking through King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh just hours after his technical split-decision draw with Liam Cameron.
In farcical scenes on Saturday night, Whittaker suffered a leg injury after falling over the ropes in the fifth round of his fight, leaving him unable to continue.
After being returned to his dressing room in a wheelchair, the former Olympian punched a hole in a wall in frustration, while Cameron claimed his opponent had looked for a “way out” of the fight, claiming he “saw it on camera ‘.
With his ankle bandaged, Whittaker was making his way through the duty free period shortly after midnight when a fan approached him and tried to take a photo.
Ben Whittaker smashed a fan’s phone at an airport hours after his fight against Liam Cameron
Whittaker suffered a leg injury in the fifth round and was unable to continue in Riyadh
Both fighters had fallen over the ropes, requiring Whittaker to use a wheelchair
A local witness, who was booked on the same Saudi Airlines flight to Heathrow, told the story The sun: ‘I saw Ben Whittaker coming through security and then a fan wearing a boxing T-shirt went up with his phone to take a picture.
‘Ben said “don’t take pictures of me” and grabbed the phone out of his hand and slammed it straight on the ground.
‘Ben stepped up to him, looked like he was going to punch him and some of Ben’s team jumped in between.
“It got really heated, they were yelling at each other.”
The unnamed witness said airport security then arrested both men.
Whittaker and the man – who was carrying battle merchandise – initially reportedly had their passports taken away, but they soon exchanged information.
After they were taken to a nearby coffee shop and sat side by side at the same table, Whittaker allegedly offered to cover the cost of the phone.
“This was a truly unfortunate event and I am grateful to the gentleman who immediately spoke about it and accepted my apology,” Whittaker said.
“Unfortunately, I cannot comment further on the alleged video recording as I have not seen it. In any case, we are in contact about replacing his phone and attending a future event as a guest.’
Whittaker was spotted walking through the airport duty-free the next morning
His confrontation against Cameron went to the judges’ scorecards and was ruled a draw
Whittaker punched a hole in a wall in frustration after driving away from the ring
Despite taking place in Saudi Arabia, Whittaker’s fight fell under the jurisdiction of the British Boxing Board of Control, whose rules state that a fight stopped due to an accidental injury must be recorded on the judges’ scorecards.
Whittaker and Cameron were each given a score of 58-57, while a third judge ruled the showdown as a 58-58 draw, resulting in the split-decision technical draw.
Cameron was visibly frustrated in the ring as the scorecards were read out.