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Fury, Hamed: British boxers who split the public as Whittaker signs with Matchroom
One of British boxing’s most polarising characters, Ben Whittaker, has signed a long-term promotional deal with Matchroom.
Whittaker burst onto the scene by winning a silver medal at the delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and is unbeaten in 10 professional fights since.
He has emerged as one of the brightest talents from these shores but is yet to get the public fully on board.
His showboating antics have been lapped up by some, yet others find them disrespectful and remain unconvinced by how far he can go in the sport, especially after his controversial draw with Liam Cameron last year.
Whittaker dominated the rematch but still hasn’t won over all his doubters.
As the 28-year-old looks to kick on under the Matchroom banner, let’s look back at six British stars who have also split opinion over the years.
Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Tyson Fury
Tyson Fury is a two-time heavyweight champion who is widely regarded as one of Britain’s best fighters this century. But his popularity has waned at times during his career.
In the early part of his boxing journey, Fury faced some ridicule, particularly after he famously punched himself in the face when attempting to land an uppercut on his opponent.
He was also involved in some rather underwhelming contests as he moved into title contention, and few gave him a chance of beating Wladimir Klitschko.
Yet he upset the odds to topple the Ukrainian great in Germany. However, it would be almost three years until he returned to the ring after that as he ballooned up in weight and struggled with his mental health.
Fury’s comeback story was an inspirational one as he lost 10 stones in weight and dethroned Deontay Wilder. Following his knockout win in their trilogy bout, Fury was more popular than ever.
However, he followed that up by announcing his retirement after beating Dillian Whyte, only to perform a U-turn months later as he started calling out Anthony Joshua.
Fury set Joshua a deadline to sign the contract and his social media antics turned some of the public against him. When the deadline passed, Fury opted to move on to a third fight with Derek Chisora instead, which turned out to be a mismatch.
The ‘Gypsy King’ was unbeaten heading into 2024 but he lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk. Fury did not take either defeat particularly well, suggesting Usyk had only got the nod in their first fight due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and he stormed out of the ring without giving an interview after the rematch.
Fury announced his retirement again at the start of this year but few believe he will actually stay away and he has already teased another comeback in 2026.
Ian Walton/Matchroom
Chris Eubank Sr
Chris Eubank Jr has not always had the public’s backing, but his father was a different kettle of fish altogether.
Chris Eubank Sr is arguably the most eccentric character to ever set foot inside a British boxing ring.
His rivalry with Nigel Benn in the 1990s will never be forgotten and fans simply had to pick one side or the other.
With Benn, what you saw is what you got. He did not mince his words and was ready for a tear-up whenever he got into the ring.
Meanwhile, Eubank Sr enjoyed antagonising his opponent, choosing his words carefully to deliberately get under Benn’s skin.
His posturing during the heat of battle also ensured he was the ultimate Marmite character. You either loved him or hated him. Fans were either desperate for him to win or get knocked out. There was no in between.
But it cannot be denied that Eubank Sr delivered when he stepped between the ropes. He won world titles in two weight classes and was one of the most entertaining fighters Britain has ever produced.
Dave Thompson/Matchroom Boxing
Naseem Hamed
Whittaker has received some criticism for showboating against lower-level opposition. Naseem Hamed was doing the same against some of the best fighters in the world.
Hamed ruled the featherweight division in the second half of the 1990s and had a lot fun while doing so.
He had some of the most extravagant ringwalks, famously arriving on a flying carpet once, and would then goad his rivals from the opening bell.
Hamed’s approach was adored by some fans as they marvelled at how he could taunt world-class fighters with his hands down before springing into action and knocking them out.
But Hamed also had the ability to irritate the public at times due to his tendency to focus more on posing and posturing rather than throwing many punches.
He could also rub people up the wrong way with his bold comments whenever he grabbed the microphone before or after fights.
Hamed was finally beaten in 2001 by Mexico’s Marco Antonio Barrera, and some fans were delighted to see him brought down a peg or two.
Hamed only fought once more after that loss before retiring in 2002.
Al Bello /Allsport
Lennox Lewis
This may seem like a strange pick given that Lennox Lewis has a claim to being Britain’s greatest fighter ever. But it was a struggle for him to get the backing of the British public.
His cause was not helped by the fact that he won an Olympic gold medal for Canada in 1988.
Lewis subsequently opted to fight out of Britain once he turned professional, but his patriotism was questioned.
Things turned particularly ugly in the build-up to his world title fight with Frank Bruno in 1993.
Bruno was adored by the British public and tried to get under Lewis’s skin by bringing up his national identity.
Lewis hit back by branding Bruno an ‘Uncle Tom’ – as he accused his rival of being a sell-out and abandoning his heritage.
When the first bell went in Cardiff, it was Bruno who had the majority of the support from the crowd, but Lewis overcame a slow start to stop him in the seventh round.
Lewis’s popularity grew over time but he was not truly appreciated until he retired in 2004.
David Haye
Moving onto another heavyweight champion in David Haye .
‘The Hayemaker’ also ruled the cruiserweight division before jumping up to outpoint the giant Nikolai Valuev in 2009.
At that point it seemed he could do no wrong, but two underwhelming title defences against John Ruiz and Audley Harrison followed.
The build-up to the Harrison fight showed Haye in a new light as he made some crude remarks about how one-sided the fight was going to be.
Haye then turned his attention to trying to unify the division as he took on Wladimir Klitschko.
He promoted the fight by wearing a shirt that had the severed heads of the Klitschko brothers on the front of it.
This did not go down well with some fans and Haye proceeded to do himself no favours by underperforming on the biggest night of his career as he was comfortably beaten on points by the younger Klitschko sibling.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Haye later blamed his defeat on a broken toe. The following year he was involved in a press conference brawl with Derek Chisora which led to the pair settling their differences in the ring a few months later.
Haye won the grudge match and looked to have salvaged his reputation as he headed into retirement, but he couldn’t stay away.
He returned in 2016, vowing to be better than ever, but his body let him down as he crumbled to successive losses against Tony Bellew.
Haye was undoubtedly a world-class operator in his prime, but his trash-talking was not to everyone’s taste and his comeback could not have gone much worse.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Conor Benn
Conor Benn opted to follow in his father’s footsteps by turning professional in 2016 as he made his debut on an Anthony Joshua undercard as a fresh-faced 19-year-old.
It was easy to get behind his rise through the rankings as he swatted aside fringe contenders to move towards the summit of the welterweight division, with Nigel often ringside to offer his support.
However, the public’s perception of Benn changed in 2022 when he failed two drug tests ahead of his grudge match with Chris Eubank Jr.
Benn protested his innocence and spent two years trying to clear his name. He was finally given the green light to fight again in the UK at the back end of last year, but his reputation had taken a hit.
Three years ago, there was no doubting that the majority of fans wanted Benn to beat Eubank Jr. That was not the case when they finally fought each other in April as Benn was handed his first loss.
The rematch is set for November 15, live on DAZN, and plenty in attendance will be hoping for a Eubank Jr repeat win due to the controversy that has surrounded Benn in recent years.
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