The Selhurst Park stadium in London witnessed another stint of Ben Whittaker’s greatness after the surging British heavyweight outboxed Ezra Arenyeka to win in dominant fashion. While it was the first time that the 27-year-old pugilist went the distance, the whole 10 rounds, the bout remains infamous for Arenyeka’s in-ring theatrics. Though, Whittaker flaunted his swagger, showboating in the ring, the Nigerian slugger wasn’t having any of it and the clear gap in skills prompted Ezra to take a few cheap shots at the Brit.
Jab was Whittaker’s weapon of choice in the opening rounds, who used it effectively to maintain the distance, catching Arenyeka with a couple of shots. While the jabs kept ‘The African King’ at bay, Whittaker’s thudding body shots slowed him down. Arenyeka in the middle rounds tried to rally but to no avail.
During the sixth, Whittaker clubbed his opponent with three unanswered uppercuts against the ropes before the Brit mockingly walked Arenyeka to his corner after the bell. This however enraged him who shoved Whittaker away with a close headbutt that got everybody’s attention. Though, the referee fired warning shots, the bad blood between the two continued into R7 when Arenyeka was deducted a point for an intentional elbow, giving us a wild “WWE moment” in boxing.
In fact, Arenyeka succumbed to his own frustrations while Whittaker put on a show, dominating the Nigerian-born Cheshire resident to a unanimous decision win – 100-90, 99-91,.