A British boxer was arrested by airport security after smashing a fan’s phone in a fit of rage

Ben Whittaker, a British boxer, was arrested by Riyadh airport security after he violently destroyed a fan’s phone when he came to take a picture.

Whittaker, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago and is regarded as one of the nation’s brightest young prospects, had bragged his way to eight victories before encountering issues on Saturday night.

In a strange moment, Whittaker and his opponent Liam Cameron fell over the top rope during their fight on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol card in Saudi Arabia. The bout ended in a draw, with Whittaker being forced to withdraw due to injury.

Whittaker left the ring in a wheelchair but was seen walking through security at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday with his ankle heavily bandaged.

A witness saw a boxing fan approach the Olympian with his phone in hand to take a photo, with Whittaker telling him ‘don’t take no photos of me’, according to The Sun. Whittaker then reportedly snatched the phone out of his hand and threw it to the floor.

At that moment, ‘Ben stepped towards him, looked like he was gonna punch him’, with the boxer and the fan ‘shouting at each other’ before Whittaker’s team stepped between them.

Whittaker and the fan were then detained by airport security, according to the report, with their passports taken off them before quickly making peace in a nearby café.

‘Ben said he would pay for the phone… and they were allowed to go on the flight,’ the witness added. ‘They literally did it at the Costa or Starbucks in front of everyone.’

Whittaker has also confirmed the incident. ‘This was a really unfortunate event and I’m grateful to the gentleman that he sat down to talk about it straight afterwards and accepted my apology.

‘Unfortunately I can’t comment further on the alleged video recording as I have not seen it.

‘In any case, we are in touch about replacing his phone and coming along to a future event as our guest.’

Having eased through his first eight fights as a professional, Whittaker was given a real test against Cameron on Saturday before the wild moment they tangled and fell over the ring ropes at the end of the fifth round.

Cameron was soon back on his feet but Whittaker was unable to continue and was spotted wearing heavy strapping around his right foot as he returned to the UK.

As a result of Whittaker not being able to continue, the fight went to the judges’ scorecards who ruled it a split decision draw – much to the frustration of Cameron who thought he had done enough to get the win.

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