Roy Jones Jr. has offered to work with British light heavyweight Ben Whittaker, who is currently injured after a controversial finish in his most recent fight.
Whittaker faced compatriot Liam Cameron on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol over the weekend and made headlines as the domestic rivals spilled over the ropes at the end of the fifth round, putting an early end to the bout as Whittaker could not continue due to an injured right foot.
The bizarre incident left Cameron fuming, and there's no timetable for Whittaker's return to the ring.
When the 27-year-old does recover, Jones stated that he'd be "open" to helping "The Surgeon" to become a better fighter.
"I am open to helping anyone who wants to learn," Jones told Betway. "When you’re flamboyant like Ben, you have to be able to walk the walk and if you don’t then you can’t play that game.
"That’s why most guys don’t do it because they know they can’t walk the walk."
Jones, who was a four-weight world champion in his fighting days, admitted to not having seen Whittaker's fight against Cameron but said he was informed about the ending. He believes the wild ending will make more people will remember Whittaker's fight than the Beterbiev vs. Bivol main event, despite labelling the undisputed light heavyweight championship bout "a great technical fight."
"I didn’t see the [Whittaker vs. Cameron] fight, but I like him. You know why? He does something people are afraid to do and that’s to entertain the fans," Jones said.
"Ben Whittaker does try to entertain where most guys don’t, and that’s what hurts boxing. I applaud Ben for what he is trying to do and that’s what I did.
"If you watch a Roy Jones Jr. fight then you know I’m going to do something different for people to remember. Ben is trying to do the same thing."