Johnny Nelson is confident Ben Whittaker can rebound from his recent setback and still carve out a successful career for himself when he eventually returns to action.
At the backend of last year, Whittaker was making hard work for himself in a bout with Liam Cameron before an injury prevented him from continuing after both fighters went over the top rope.
The bout was scored a draw based on the rounds that had been completed, but Whittaker has faced severe criticism for the performance since the contest concluded.
With the pair likely to meet again in 2025, Whittaker could have the chance to silent the doubters and push on towards securing further glory at light-heavyweight.
Nelson, a former world champion at cruiserweight, is a big supporter of Whittaker and he’s not ready to give up on the Wolverhampton man.
Now a respected pundit, Nelson has seen many star fighters struggle early in their professional career and he’s used one example when explaining Whittaker’s last fight.
He has gone through the humiliation and criticism of his last fight and the mystique. You either love or loathe him,” said Nelson when speaking to Action Network .
“When Carl Thompson beat David Haye in his 10th professional fight and got Haye got knocked out, it was the same criticism. Look what David did. If something like that is going to happen, you better hope it happens early in your professional career than late in your professional career.
“I still rate Ben as a talent, a potential box office star but he just has to go through the mill. He will just have to do some in-house stuff to sort out and he’ll be there if not in 2025 then the following year.”
More Boxing
- Best fights of 2024 - so far
- Usyk v Fury 2 - full fight guide
- Boxing full schedule and calendar
- DAZN's upcoming Boxing shows
- Boxing rankings
- Boxing champions list in every division
- Complete list of undisputed heavyweight boxing champions
- Fighter profiles and highlights
- How do weight classes work?
- What are the major boxing titles?
- How is boxing scored?