Ben Whittaker secured another stoppage victory on Saturday night, but fans were divided over the 26-year-old’s showboating in the ring.
Whittaker, who claimed a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, extended his professional record to 6-0 after securing a fifth-round stoppage against Khalid Gradia.
Whittaker coasted through the light-heavyweight dust-up – dropping his 41-year-old opponent in the second round before going on to showboat in front of the home crowd.
Whittaker swayed from side to side, exaggerating his body movements before hopping around the ring on one leg and waving to the crowd to make some more noise.
It was in the fourth round that Whittaker decided to complete a 360 degree spin on one leg while taunting his opponent. His actions did not sit well with referee Sean McAvoy.
Ben Whittaker (pictured on the right) secured another stoppage victory on Saturday night, but fans were divided over the 26-year-old’s showboating in the ring
Whittaker, who claimed a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics , extended his professional record to 6-0 after securing a fifth-round stoppage against Khalid Gradia
McAvoy told both men to stop boxing and called Whittaker into the corner to give him a dressing down. He told the Brit to stop messing around and issued the 26-year-old a formal warning.
Fans were divided in opinion. Some supporters were booing Whittaker inside Wembley Arena and others were praising him for his entertaining performance on Saturday night.
The debate continued on social media. One X user wrote: ‘Moves are fine when it’s flowing but he seems to be overdoing it.’ While another added: ‘Embarrassing to watch. Hopping around the ring against a bin man.’
One social media user wrote: ‘Disgraceful showboating. You get in the ring to box. Not dance. Ridiculous behaviour’. Another joked: ‘Ben Whittaker doing Ben Whittaker things.’
Whittaker was asked about his showboating after the fight and said his actions inside the ring should not be taken as ‘disrespectful’.
Speaking Sky Sports after the bout, Whittaker said: ‘Do you know what it is? I can dance, I can shimmy, but I broke him down in a jiffy.
‘I was going through the motions, looked at my dad and he was a bit annoyed, so I said ‘alright, let me show you what I can do’ and I got the job done.’
He finished by saying: ‘Don’t take the showboating as disrespect, it’s just my art. People can compare me to Prince Naseem but I am Ben Whittaker.’
It was in the fourth round that Whittaker decided to complete a 360 degree spin on one leg while taunting his opponent. His actions did not sit well with referee Sean McAvoy
Whittaker was asked about his showboating after the fight and said his actions inside the ring should not be taken as ‘disrespectful’