Benjamin Whittakers move from BOXXER to Matchroom reshapes boxings power balance in Britain, and it got me thinking about the sport and life back in England.
Out of everything, I miss my family and childhood friends the most and Marmite.
If youre American and you dont know what Marmite is, you probably wont want to find out.
I used to think it was a byproduct of brewing beer, but, as Ive matured, Ive realized were not supposed to know. We just accept that its sold in glass jars, is thicker than motor oil and, atrocious looks aside, its delicious. Most people in the U.K. add it to a grilled cheese, which is good, but combining it with cream for a Marmite gravy to pour over mashed potatoes is great for your Sunday roasts.
The reason I bring it up is because theres a saying back home. You either love Marmite or you hate it. Theres no in between. And, when it comes to combat sports, Whittaker is a Marmite boxer. Youre either going to love him, like I do, or you hate him, like you weirdos.
This is the type of fighter Matchroom is inheriting.
Some might think thats a negative, but its actually the ideal foundation because the worst thing in boxing isnt to be hated. Its to not even be known. Its to resonate so poorly with fans that the people arent even aware of when your next fight is.
Worse, still, is if they dont even care.
In the fight game, you want fans to feel something. Anything. You want them to care regardless of whether thats for good reasons or bad. Floyd Mayweather knew this better than anybody when he leaned into his polarizing “Money” personality after bursting onto the scene as the sports “Pretty Boy.”
Though Whittaker is more Emanuel Augustus than Mayweather, Floyd often cites “The Drunken Master” as the most difficult fighter he ever faced in his 50-0 career. And nobody has had an easy night standing opposite Whittaker, who’s this generations pugilistic troll, booping people on the nose and dancing away while gesturing to a jeering crowd.
He pulls off moves no boxing coach in Britain would ever teach, and he does so with a smile and a dance like it was textbook all along.
Nothing about Whittakers schooling is conventional. His real inspiration was Mario Kindelán, the great Cuban fighter whose blend of precision, rhythm and swagger disguised technique as mischief. Whittaker has that art-form down, too, as hes a saucy showman, which is an approach that has already irked fans as well as fighters.
Not all fighters, though.
“He’s great and so entertaining, UFC middleweight Michael “Venom” Page, another Marmite fighter from England, told Uncrowned.
I spoke to Page last year as he was preparing to fight UFC welterweight Ian Machado Garry in Las Vegas, two weeks after Whittaker danced his way to a unanimous decision win over Eworitse Ezra Arenyeka in London. Whittaker’s win was not without controversy, though, as his constant showboating infuriated his opponent so much that Arenyeka head-butted him.
Page called the foul disgusting, but offered constructive criticism to help Whittakers development. His head movement is great, Page said, but he dips in the wrong place, which can sometimes see him get caught. The key, Page added, is not letting the showboating dominate the tactics. If you spend too much time doing it for the crowd reaction, its going to get harder as he steps up in competition,'” Page said. “Thats not going to win you fights.
His hands are amazing. Slip one, slip another, then land your shots. Dont just slip, slip, slip. You cant win on defense-only, but hes an exceptional fighter.
Whittaker has fought twice since then, both of which came against Liam Cameron, exchanging a technical draw before finishing Cameron with a nasty second-round stoppage this past April.
With expert poise, footwork and shot selection, it didn’t take long before Whittaker found his range and rhythm in the rematch and toyed with Cameron, thanks to check hooks and two-punch combos. Then it all came to an end before the six-minute mark. Whittaker countered Cameron with a crisp right hand midway through the second round and forced a referee’s stoppage from the barrage of follow-up blows. Whittaker, of course, then overzealously celebrated in the faces of his opponent’s coaches.
That mix of artistry, arrogance and attention-grabbing spectacle is likely part of the reason why Matchroom brass like Eddie Hearn and Frank Smith were quick to pounce. In statements sent to Uncrowned, Hearn called Whittaker phenomenal and the greatest signing to make in boxing today. Smith agreed, calling him a future legend of British boxing, and a game-changer of a signing.
And Smith is right.
Whittaker’s move is the most significant domestic transfer for the British scene in 2025.
It also shifts the power balance between BOXXER and Matchroom.
Ben Shaloms BOXXER has had significant platforms on Sky Sports and now BBC. And part of its strategy on those channels has been to build a younger audience with fresher-faced fighters like U.K. superstar Chris Eubank Jr., the Azim brothers Adam and Hassan, and Whittaker, who was arguably being built to become the face of BOXXER’s entire operation.
Losing Whittaker is a PR and commercial blow, particularly as he heads to Hearn an arch-rival of Shalom’s.
Matchroom, meanwhile, is in desperate need of younger blood who has the potential to drive the bulk of its boxing revenue moving forward, as Anthony Joshua and Katie Taylor have done for more than a decade apiece. “AJ” and “KT” are both at the tail-ends of their respective careers, and Matchroom has been chasing a domestic spark to offset the losses Joshua and Taylors near-future retirements will bring. Whittaker is a credible candidate to take the baton; young, flamboyant and with an in-ring style that should appeal in the U.S., if Matchroom were to ever take “The Surgeon’s” show on the road.
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Im ready for the next step, Whittaker said. With Andy Lee in my corner and Matchroom behind me I will become even more of a household name and one day become a world champion.
Matchroom, though, has its work cut out. Its not an easy sell right now.
In Whittaker’s first fight with Cameron, both fighters fell through the ring ropes. And, with Whittaker unable to continue, the bout was declared a technical draw. This led to accusations of a quitter’s mentality, with Cameron even claiming Whittaker 100 percent quit [because] he was exhausted.
It is difficult to shake off such a perception. Just ask Daniel Dubois, who was perceived to have quit in his maiden loss to Joe Joyce, when he took a knee under relentless pressure in 2020. Any notion that his career at the elite level was over couldn’t have been farther from the truth considering, since then, Dubois shared the ring with Oleksandr Usyk (twice), and battered Joshua, Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic.
A thrilling win in a stadium fight can do wonders for a career. It just so happens that stadium fights are Matchrooms forte.
Like Marmite, Whittaker wont ever please everyone, but thats the point. Some will love the showmanship, others will turn their nose up at the alleged arrogance of arguably the most charismatic and viral-ready boxer under 30 in the U.K.
But after years of the same names, and many of those close to retirement, British boxing needs someone who makes people care again.
Love him or hate him, Whittaker makes you feel something, and thats worth every jar on the shelf.