Savage Frank Warren blasts ‘AMATEUR’ Ben Shalom and Boxxer over Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron contract row
FRANK WARREN has blasted rival promoter Ben Shalom as an “amateur” amid a contract dispute between Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron.
The pair had a controversial draw last October in Saudi Arabia when they went over the top rope – leaving Whittaker unable to continue.
But they have since signed to rematch on April 20 in Birmingham – but under differing terms.
Cameron said on talkSPORT that his contract is for a 12-round bout while Whittaker’s was for ten rounds.
And Cameron is “not budging” over the row with his promoter Warren providing BoxNation with an update.
He said: “Boxxer have sent two [different] contracts out to two fighters.
“To Liam, they sent him a contract for terms that were agreed for a 12-round fight, and that is reflected in the contract, and that is signed by all parties, including Boxxer.
“I understand Ben Whittaker was sent a contract for ten rounds. Our position is that we have signed a contract for 12 rounds, and Ben Whittaker is contracted for ten rounds.
“The respective managers have negotiated on behalf of their fighters what they feel is best for their fighter, and for some reason, Boxxer have sent two different contracts that don’t reflect what each of them should be getting.
“As far as we are concerned, it should be a 12-round fight; that is what we have signed for.”
Asked whether they would accept financial compensation to make the fight a ten-rounder, Warren replied: “Well, if they do and Liam is happy for that, then they can go ahead and do it.
“For me, I think they should stick to 12 rounds… I’ve never heard of this before. This is like amateur night out.
“Sometimes you get lawyers that draft the contract and in the drafting they might make a cock up but in boxing, the amount of rounds in a fight is very crucial and there was no doubt it was negotiated for a 12 round fight.
“And if it wasn’t, do Boxxer, Shalom, whoever signed it, are they signing contracts without reading what they are sending out?”
SunSport has reached out to Boxxer for comment.
It comes after Cameron said on radio: “There is a mess about with the contracts that nobody is letting me speak about, so I’m going to try on here.
“We have signed for a 12-round fight, and they are trying to push it for a ten-rounder, doing everything that they can, and I’m not budging.
“I’m having a 12-round fight. I tried to do it on Gloves Are Off, and they wouldn’t let me speak about it.
“And on Sky Sports, they didn’t air my interview. This is the problem we are having. I signed a 12-round contract fight.
“When I was signing the contract, I thought ‘He couldn’t barely get through five rounds, this is weird’.
“So a couple of weeks went by, and they tried to send another contract for a ten-rounder.
“That shows the confidence levels, I’m ready for 15 rounds… It is signed for 12 rounds. There has been a mistake there.
“They thought they sent me a ten-round contract, but really it is a 12-rounder. He [Warren] is saying that we are not budging no matter what.”
A spokesperson for BOXXER, Whittaker’s promoter, said after: “The situation is being resolved and we look forward to one of the most eagerly anticipated rematches in recent history live from the bp pulse arena in Birmingham on Easter Sunday.”