Ben Whittaker

[TIC]

lets see if we get any consistency from those who rag on other fighters who get a media push

[Master]

As Mirror Sport's Black History Month mini-series continues, this piece focuses on boxing star Ben Whittaker, who claimed the silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Born and raised in Wolverhampton, the 25-year-old was a hyperactive child and his father suggested turning to boxing as a way to channel his constant bundle of energy.

The boxer revealed he signed up for his very first fight without consulting his parents, but it paid off as he emerged victorious, before deciding to pursue the sport for a living. During the exclusive chat, Whittaker, who has an English and Austrian mother and a Jamaican father, shared what comes to mind when he thinks of Black History Month.

“It’s a time to celebrate what we’ve gone through and where we are now,” he said. “Being a black athlete and being able to perform at the highest level and put my country on my back, it’s the best feeling ever and it means a lot to me.” However, he did stress the need for black history to be taught and promoted more consistently throughout the year, especially throughout the education system and called on those with the influence to try and make a difference.

“We only get one month and it gets brushed under the rug," he added. "It should just become a norm now, we’re in 2022, everything should just be accepted. This month, it should be pushed as much as possible, but sadly it doesn’t get the push it should do. If people with the blue ticks and a bit of say don't start pushing this then it’s going to go quiet and get forgotten about.

“Especially in primary schools, drill black history into them from then, so when they get older it’s the norm. I think that's what the higher-ups have got to do.” On his boxing journey, in addition to life in general, Whittaker shared his experiences in the sport and challenges he has had to overcome, one of which is racial profiling.

“It is a struggle now and again,” he continued. “I do think boxing is a sport where most of the champions are African-American or African descent. In all walks of life there have been times where I’ve been profiled. It’s not nice because some people don't know who I am, but I'll wear a tracksuit and I’ll put my hat on and it’s ‘oh, I don't know about this guy’. It’s not the best feeling and it’s still around today sadly.

“Even as a kid when I went into the gyms there were not a lot of kids boxing. I’d walk in and it was like a pin dropped. I was thinking ‘what’s going on here’? My dad said ‘just keep walking, just do your thing, when you spar you show them who you are’. That’s the way it was sadly, it shouldn’t be that way, but it was."

In England and Wales, there were 7.5 stop and searches for every 1,000 white people, compared with 52.6 for every 1,000 black people. Furthermore, those from mixed ethnic backgrounds were about two-and-a-half times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.

Whittaker is disheartened by some of the things he has experienced due to his race, but he remains encouraged by his platform and uses his achievements to inspire the next generation. “Being be a black athlete representing my country, I like that I’ve done what I’ve done because it shows other kids who might feel that type of way or get that type of profiling that someone can do it who looks like them,” he added. “I wear the Great Britain vest and that type of vest underneath.”

Representation is so vital to the black community, as seeing people flourishing in an industry one is keen to enter further fills them with motivation and the drive to try and succeed. For Whittaker, it was Birmingham-born footballer Joleon Lescott playing for his boyhood team Wolverhampton Wanderers, and former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua later in life that inspired him to go after his dreams.

“Joleon Lescott, he was the local hero for me and I remember I shook his hand and I didn’t wash my hand for a week,” the Olympian chuckled. "Being a little kid, seeing someone who looks like me and acts like me, I said ‘I want to be like him’. Then I started growing up and I saw Anthony Joshua and once again he looks like me and I thought ‘I want to be like him’. If you see someone that looks like you and represents the same things as you, it inspires you to want to be like them.”

Whittaker touched on some of the adverse reactions people can have to being racially profiled, and sadly saw some of his friends go down the wrong path as a result. But he praised his upbringing for keeping him on the straight and narrow and explained how he has helped the younger generation.

“What I’ve done before is go into the schools," he explained. "I went back into my local school and it was good to see the kids’ eyes light up. I’m a local kid, I’ve been through the same things as them and I live around the same area as them. No-one’s ever come into my school and no-one ever gave me that reason to look up to them so that’s what I try and do it now and I think that’s what more people should do.”

After capturing a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Whittaker turned pro earlier this year and last fought on the undercard of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk’s second fight in August and emerged victorious.

After winning his first two professional fights, the boxer outlined his goals for next year and beyond in a very simple and confident manner. "Next year, it's just the same old me,” Whittaker said. “Just keep beating them up, keep winning and just keep it moving from there.”

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...42c62512b660ab

[Primo Carnera]

Hype train moving fast on this one. Naz 2.0

[Master]

Hype train moving fast on this one. Naz 2.0

Ben Whittaker is the real deal.

[Primo Carnera]

Hype train moving fast on this one. Naz 2.0

Ben Whittaker is the real deal.

Let’s see in a few more fights.

[Master]

[Primo Carnera]

Beginning to dislike this fella. Less talk more do.

[Denilson3.0]

Don't think we should be comparing Whittaker to Ali. On a boxing level he's done nothing in comparison to Ali.

But on a social level Ali spoke up for black ppl in America and blk ppl worldwide.

Whittaker ain't speaking about out the plight of blk british people, even though most blk brits live in the mud and haven't got a biscuit and the only time you generally see a black man working in the UK is if he's

1. 1. Security guard at the Aldi, Tesco or at some store "you know ur big n ur blk ain't ya ?....and well u guys are kinda ugly, so you can be a bouncer or work security"
2. 2. Or if a ur a young blk African you can ride a bike for Uber Eats for minimum wage with unsociable hours

He ain't gonna talk like that. Whittaker ain't gonna talk about the 700 blk Africans migrants (men n women and children) who the spanish just allowed to drown a few yrs bk ....if they were white they would not have allowed them to drown.

And I say that, because even though he might think it, he will be like most black sportsmans and say the right thing and got out of his way to not really upset white ppl. Whittaker speaks ? Sky sports - Shalom, British Boxing Board will be threatening to slap him down. That in a way is how racism protects itself, by creating a system that blk ppl depend on.

And to be honest in the press conference I didn't like the way Whittaker was taken the mick with his next opponent (A black Nigerian boxer) about how he can't understand him (when he was easy to understand) and how he watched "Coming To America". Not funny Ben. I bet he can speak English better than you can speak his language.

[Memphis]

We also let black people work in barber shops, petrol stations and warehouses. The really clever ones are allowed to go to school and the athletic ones are allowed to play sport.

[Big J]

Why did he turn down a fight with Lewis Edmondson?

[Master]

One morning in February, light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker woke up to millions of hits on his Instagram account.

It was the Monday after his stoppage win over Khalid Graidia at Wembley Arena.

"My phone just blew up. It was just weird," Whittaker told BBC Sport.

'The Surgeon', as he is known, posted two videos in the days after his devastating disposal of Graidia, showcasing lightning-quick reactions and his showboating antics, which included dancing around the ring during exchanges.

"I've been doing this style since I was a kid and out of nowhere my socials all went crazy," Whittaker said.

"You can't complain, it is good, but I'm just being myself. I won't change for no-one and as long as I get the job done that's all that matters."

Just 24 hours after he posted the first video,, external Whittaker gained over 100,000 followers on Instagram. By March, his follower count had reached 1m, and he has since passed the 2m mark.

The highlight reel, external of that February win, just his sixth fight as a pro, reeled in 2.7m likes and 58m views on Instagram.

Whittaker's style has received criticism from some boxing fans, with the claim it is disrespectful to the opponent across the other side of the ring.

The 27-year-old, from Darlaston, near Walsall in the West Midlands, remains adamant that the showboating is simply a way in which he is able to express himself.

He experienced the impact of wider exposure during a recent trip to America with his promotional company, Boxxer.

"I had people recognise me on the streets from that video," Whittaker said.

"It's humbling for me, a lad from Darlaston having people over there coming up to me."

Whittaker took silver for Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after defeat by Cuba's Arlen Lopez in the light-heavyweight gold-medal bout.

He made his professional debut in Bournemouth in July 2022 and has now fought and won seven professional fights.

These have all taken place in the UK apart from his second fight when he travelled to Saudi Arabia.

Following his viral moment, Whittaker found that a new audience had begun to follow him. It came as a surprise, having fought for most of his professional career in the UK.

"On my Instagram it was mainly Brazil and the United States that engaged with that viral post," he said.

"It is mad to be honest; Brazil is now the top country that follow me."

Whittaker next fights on the undercard of Chris Billam-Smith's world title defence against Richard Riakporhe at Selhurst Park in London on Saturday.

He will challenge for the first belt of his pro career when he takes on Ezra Arenyeka for the WBA gold light-heavyweight title.

Arenyeka is an undefeated fighter from Nigeria who called Whittaker out in person when he stormed the stage at a news conference before the Briton's last fight in March.

"The main thing is that there's a belt on the line for me - something to show off and hold my jeans up with," Whittaker said.

"It's a big card and will be a big atmosphere, I'll learn from the experience. I'm going to make an example of Ezra."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/c4n1y5yjljgo

[NoSavingByTheBell]

Don't think we should be comparing Whittaker to Ali. On a boxing level he's done nothing in comparison to Ali.

But on a social level Ali spoke up for black ppl in America and blk ppl worldwide.

Whittaker ain't speaking about out the plight of blk british people, even though most blk brits live in the mud and haven't got a biscuit and the only time you generally see a black man working in the UK is if he's

1. 1. Security guard at the Aldi, Tesco or at some store "you know ur big n ur blk ain't ya ?....and well u guys are kinda ugly, so you can be a bouncer or work security"
2. 2. Or if a ur a young blk African you can ride a bike for Uber Eats for minimum wage with unsociable hours

He ain't gonna talk like that. Whittaker ain't gonna talk about the 700 blk Africans migrants (men n women and children) who the spanish just allowed to drown a few yrs bk ....if they were white they would not have allowed them to drown.

And I say that, because even though he might think it, he will be like most black sportsmans and say the right thing and got out of his way to not really upset white ppl. Whittaker speaks ? Sky sports - Shalom, British Boxing Board will be threatening to slap him down. That in a way is how racism protects itself, by creating a system that blk ppl depend on.

And to be honest in the press conference I didn't like the way Whittaker was taken the mick with his next opponent (A black Nigerian boxer) about how he can't understand him (when he was easy to understand) and how he watched "Coming To America". Not funny Ben. I bet he can speak English better than you can speak his language.

Most black Brits live in the mud and haven't got a biscuit? 😳😳😳 Is that what you wrote?

[Master]

Nearly finished him in the last round

[TIC]

nearly got him. i see ben struggling against better opponents

[Memphis]

I know it's early doors and I want to be wrong, but Whittaker strikes me as all sizzle, no steak. He's a burger, from a tin, and the sizzle got boring a few fights ago.

OK, bit harsh. He's got some skills, some good skills. But he's labouring to a points win over a bloke that understands a few bits and pieces, but doesn't actually know how to box. The commentary was terrible. Maybe he wants the ten rounds. He did it in second gear. Lies. He hurt him a couple of times for sure, but he couldn't get him out of there despite trying.

If he wants to be a social media boxer, go a tear shit up in Misfits. He'd be a massive hit. This is proper boxing. He should focus on being a proper boxer. Step off the beaten path for sure. But keep it in sight.