If the winner of Ben Whittaker’s rematch with Liam Cameron comes looking for a fight with Joshua Buatsi, the Londoner tells Sky Sports he’s “not hard to find”.
Ever since Whittaker and Cameron tumbled out of the ring in the fifth round of their first fight, discussion has swirled around the controversial ending.
The two were caught up in a clinch and flipped over the top rope, falling over with their arms tied up and with no way to brace for the impact. Both crashed down headlong on the ring apron.
Cameron did manage to clamber back through the ropes to continue, but Whittaker was injured and so could not go on.
It meant the bout went to a technical decision and the judges ruled it a draw. Subsequently Cameron claimed not only that he should have won but that Whittaker “quit” when, according to his rival, the Wolverhampton man could have continued.
Light-heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi, a former British champion and previously a regular sparring partner for Whittaker when the latter was on the GB squad, thinks the rematch is the only way to settle the issue.
Whittaker and Cameron will fight again on Sunday April 20, live on Sky Sports.
Buatsi told Sky Sports: “I always said to people that only he [Whittaker] would know.
“We can make all the speculations we want outside the ring but only he knows whether or not he was injured or whether he quit, whether it was a way out or he hurt himself.
“So I think it’s a question for him. The most important thing is they’ve got a rematch.
“I won’t miss it. They get to square it and we get to find out the truth.”
Buatsi is coming off a loss to Callum Smith for the WBO Interim title but it was a thrillingly exciting fight and the Londoner remains a top class light-heavyweight.
And if the winner of the Whittaker vs Cameron rematch starts seeking out a Buatsi fight for themselves, he simply says: “I’m not hard to find.”
‘Too early’ for Whittaker
World title challenger Anthony Yarde, who has been linked previously to a potential fight with Buatsi, thinks it’s too soon for Ben Whittaker to step up in level.
“Of course” he would take a fight with Whittaker himself, he says. But Yarde told Sky Sports: “I don’t think it’s a smart decision on any of their parts. That’s just my humble opinion. I feel like it’s a little bit too early. A few more fights, I feel like it will make more sense.
“If I fought Ben Whittaker now, I’m just being honest, it would be too early for him. It would be too early for him. That’s my opinion. Because I feel I can beat anybody in the world. Each loss at world level, I’ve always come back better.”
Watch Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron 2 on Sunday April 20 live on Sky Sports.