British boxing’s ultimate showman Ben Whittaker overcame a headbutt and an elbow from his fiery opponent Ezra Arenyeka to coast his way to a one-sided points victory on the undercard of Chris Billam-Smith and Richard Riakporhe’s world title fight at Selhurst Park.
After a spicy build-up that saw Whittaker grab his opponent’s throat at Friday’s final face-off in response to being accused of acting ‘like a kid’ with his in-ring antics, tempers threatened to spill over into the ring in a fight that Whittaker dominated, earning a 100-89 verdict on one judge’s card, with the other two scoring it 99-90.
Having been outclassed for the first half of the 10-round contest, Arenyeka aimed a headbutt at the 2021 Olympic silver medallist at the end of the sixth round after Whittaker mockingly walked him back to his corner.
Arenyeka received a stern telling-off from the referee but had not cooled down moments later, and proceeded to aim an elbow at Whittaker during a clinch in the following round.
This time, the referee had no choice but to step in and deduct a point from the underdog.
Ben Whittaker outclassed Ezra Areyeka to coast his way to a points victory in London
The Englishman survived a headbutt from his opponent at the end of the sixth round
He also withstood an elbow as Areyeka cranked up his dirty tactics as tempers flared
Whittaker coasted his way through the rest of the fight and there were no doubts that he would get his hand raised, but the flamboyant light-heavyweight may have been a little disappointed with failing to get a stoppage on the big stage.
The 27-year-old relishes putting on a show and that began before the fight even got underway.
Whittaker danced and shimmied his way to the ring with the help of a symphonic orchestra as he lapped up the adulation of 15,000 fans.
It was a prolonged ring walk that kept Arenyeka waiting, but Whittaker got straight down to business when the opening bell rang.
Donning pink gloves, Whittaker snapped Arenyeka’s head back with a crisp right hand straight away before repeating the feat. Arenyeka tried to fire back but could only hit fresh air, leading to Whittaker shaking his head with disdain before goading his opponent.
Arenyeka refused to be intimidated and dropped his gloves, drawing cheers from the crowd, but Whittaker was in control from the outset.
The showboating from Whittaker continued in the second as he spent as much time looking out the ring as at his opponent. But he still landed sharp counters on his over-matched rival, hurting Arenyeka with a left hook to the body and then the same shot to the temple.
Arenyeka connected with a right hand in the third to remind Whittaker that he was still in the contest, but that only served to fire Whittaker up as he ripped home multiple uppercuts to send Arenyeka backpedalling towards the ropes.
Whittaker controlled the fight and will be disappointed not to have knocked out Areyeka
The fight was on the undercard of Chris Billam-Smith’s WBO world cruiserweight title win over Richard Riakporhe
Selhurst Park’s crowd were left entertained but wanting more after seeing an eventful contest
The writing was on the wall, and the pattern of the fight continued into the fourth round. Whittaker had found his groove and clipped Arenyeka from all angles, with his opponent having minimal success in return.
To his credit, Arenyeka continued to trudge forwards and found the target in the fifth, but could not trouble Whittaker who danced around the ring and grinned at those lucky enough to snap up ringside seats.
If Arenyeka was starting to gain any confidence in the fifth, it evaporated the following round as Whittaker started to put together flashy combinations that left his opponent clinging on.
And then came Arenyeka’s two moments of madness. Could Whittaker have put his foot on the gas to punish Arenyeka for his behaviour?
In fairness, he tried in the final round, with Arenyeka wobbling around the ring as the final bell rang after a barrage of punches from Whittaker.
But he held on and Whittaker had to settle for a points win, leaving the crowd entertained but still wanting more.
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