At long last, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker has provided an injury update after his last fight in October ended unexpectedly, leaving him with an ankle injury. However, it doesn’t seem to have had the same impact on the masses, as he might have hoped for. On October 12th, ‘The Surgeon’ squared off against United Kingdom’s Liam Cameron. 

While he seemed ahead in the first few rounds, the 27-year-old’s legs were barely there, as the tides of the fight had started shifting in Cameron’s favor. It had become extremely clear that ‘Cannonball’ Cameron was the toughest opponent, Whittaker had come across in his short career. However, as the fifth round was nearing the end—things got strange. 

The debacle that was Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron

Touted as the next big thing, Whittaker was expected to make quick work of Cameron. However, his usual dancing and showboating antics were nowhere to be seen. Near the tail end of the 5th round, Cameron forced Whittaker back on the ropes. But as he approached Whittaker to deliver further punishment, the 27-year-old clinched, and both fighters tumbled over the rope and out the ring. 

Whittaker claimed his ankle was injured in the fall, unable to continue the fight, and he was taken out of the ring in a wheelchair. The fight, of course, was declared a draw, but since then, Cameron has launched a campaign against Whittaker, suggesting he faked the injury to save a loss. Interestingly, a clip of Whittaker went viral right after the fight, which showed the Brit getting into an altercation with an individual at the Saudi Airport. 

This further bolstered the claims that Whittaker had faked his injury. Fast forward to 21 days, Whittaker turned to Instagram to share the health update. “Just left my final session with my Physical therapist and here’s the result,” Whittaker wrote while sharing ‘Knife in the Leg’ clip from the 2006 comedy Talladega Nights, which featured Will Ferrell.

Long story short, the clip showed Farrell playing Ricky Bobby, a NASCAR driver, who tries to convince his pit crew chief Lucius Washington, played by Late Michael Clarke Duncan, and Bobby’s friend Cal Naughton, played by John C. Reilly, that he is paralyzed following a traumatic crash despite being able to walk just fine. 

Regardless, Whittaker also wrote, “Back soon don’t worry. Get back gonna be amazing.” The whole thing was clearly an attempt to address his last fight and the backlash with some humor, but fans weren’t ready to let Whittaker get out of the situation so easily. 

Fan advocates for Whittaker to change his name to ‘Quittaker’

Ben Whittaker had attracted quite the scrutiny with his fight, but now, things seem to be even more heated. One fan mocked Whittaker for thinking he would get out of the situation with ease. “Dude thinks he can troll he’s way out this L,” the user commented. A rematch is the only answer now for Whittaker to save face. 

Another user refused to believe Whittaker was injured at all. “Doesn’t show a video of himself with his so-called ‘injury’ but he posts a video from a movie 😂😂😂,” the user commented. Whittaker’s promoter has claimed that during the fall, his past neck injury was also affected. 

Meanwhile, this user trolled Whittaker for the clip. “Bro gotta change his name to Ben Quittaker, it’s only right,” the user wrote. It’s worth mentioning that Cameron was the one who first came up with the nickname. 

The next user speculated whether Ben Whittaker ever saw the entire Talladega Nights movie. “Either he’s admitting he isn’t injured at all, or he hasn’t seen Talladega Nights 🤣,” the user wrote. It’s basically a story about a top NASCAR driver, who loses to Jean Girard and tries to make a comeback one way or the other. 

While everyone else was mocking Whittaker, this person showed some sympathy. “Gutted for him. He gets ruled out with a serious injury and the people continue to ridicule his career,” the user’s comment read. Surprisingly, Whittaker’s supporters were quite rare. 

It goes without saying that the public is not buying what Ben Whittaker is selling through his injury update. However, it would be interesting to see what his next move would be. Do you think Whittaker faked his injury?