Ben Whittaker admits he 'weirdly' enjoyed everyone turning against him after Liam Cameron fight and says backlash fuelled his late-night training ahead of Matchroom debut

Ben Whittaker admits he 'weirdly' enjoyed the fact that 'everyone turned against' him after his chaotic first fight with Liam Cameron and says he used the backlash as fuel in lonely late-night training sessions as he prepares to make a major statement on his Matchroom debut in Birmingham on Saturday night.

The Olympic silver medallist, who faces Benjamin Gavazi for the WBC Silver light-heavyweight title, says the reaction to the infamous Cameron bout – which ended in farce when both men tumbled out of the ring – became the turning point of his professional career.

Whittaker was widely criticised after the rematch too, where he stopped Cameron in the second round before exploding into a wild celebration that sparked a fierce online debate and accusations of disrespect. But instead of breaking him, he insists the negativity lit something inside him.

'It was a tough situation because I had everything. Then everybody turned against me, and weirdly, I liked it,' Whittaker told Daily Mail Sport ahead of fight night. 'I'd go for runs at one in the morning saying, wait till I'm back.

'People were tagging me in posts and talking about me. I said, wait till I'm back. I cut everyone off, trained like a villain in a movie, didn't speak to anyone, and just focused on popping out and performing. You can't change people's opinions, so you've got to focus on yourself.'

Whittaker now believes the entire Cameron saga – from the bizarre fall through the ropes to the tense 'Roundgate' dispute before their rematch and the criticism that followed – was the jolt he needed after a period where early success came too easily.

'Of course, you never want a bump in the road. It would have been lovely for it all to keep going. Who knows, I probably wouldn't even be boxing now, probably a Netflix star or something crazy,' he said. 'But that bump needed to happen and I think it came at the right time.

'I come from a working-class house. My mum worked two jobs, my dad worked two jobs. Nothing was easy. Then suddenly everything was coming to my feet, and that's when you either take your foot off the ball or you overdo it. My issue was overdoing it. I was training three times a day. I was overcooking myself.'

After the rematch he moved to Ireland, streamlined his team and began working under Andy Lee. He's kept a noticeably lower profile since, avoiding the spotlight and doing minimal media.

Asked by Daily Mail Sport if that withdrawal stemmed from feeling let down or losing trust in the media, Whittaker offered a candid response.

'You can't give everyone your time. I was a classroom clown, always had to say something, act like an idiot. Maybe that's the ADHD. But since everything happened it's calmed down. You don't always need to be the loudest person in the room. Sometimes myself is quiet too,' he said.

'I'm in a city where nobody really knows me, which is good. I can go under the radar, do my shopping, live quietly. It makes you a happier fighter.'

Lee, he says, has helped sharpen the fundamentals without trying to dull Whittaker's flamboyant streak. 'Showboating is something you can never take away from me. I love it, I'm good at it, and it's how I express myself,' Whittaker said.

'Andy didn't want to take it out either. Sometimes in sparring he'll say, you're not doing your little showboating stuff - don't lose that. He knows the basics matter, but he knows my style is unique.'

Now 9-0-1 with six knockouts, Whittaker enters his first fight under Eddie Hearn determined to prove he can finally build momentum after a stop-start two years under Boxxer.

Gavazi, 19-1 with 13 KOs and unbeaten since his debut loss, is expected to provide the stiffest test of his career but Whittaker insists he is ready to make the performance fans have been waiting for.

'I'm feeling good. I've done all the work, left no stone unturned,' he said. 'Another headline fight, a good belt on the line – they've done everything on their part. Now it's down to me to go out there and win, and that's what I plan to do.'

And if the crowd turns on him again, he says he won't shy away from it. In fact, as he proved before, he might just thrive on it.