Ben Whittaker may be in Florida but the weather says otherwise. “Yesterday we were melting in the sun but today we’re pretty much in England,” he says, grinning over video call from Miami. “It’s raining, there’s thunder, so I think we might have brought the weather with us, which is a shame. But I’m British, I’m used to it.”
Whittaker, a pro boxer, has jetted into town, courtesy of Givenchy, to attend the Miami Grand Prix (which the very English weather wasn’t able to stop – Kimi Antonelli took out the win). He’s speaking the morning after attending a party celebrating the brand’s new Gentleman Society Sport fragrance, alongside F1 driver and the fragrance’s ambassador Pierre Gasly. For the night, Whittaker was kitted out in a white linen Givenchy suit that, he was happy to discover, showed off his abs and One Piece-inspired chest tattoo: “Good job I’ve not had too many Krispy Kremes.” The superstar boxer was playing it safe and cut the evening short. “I am an athlete at the end of the day so I left before the party actually got crazy.”
Whittaker would be forgiven for letting his hair down, though. He’s just two weeks out from his latest win, where he handily knocked out opponent Braian Suarez in the first round. Whittaker remains undefeated – he’s never lost a fight – and at his current rate, he’s rocketing towards a world title. How’s he feeling, then? “It feels good, of course,” he says. “I think any sportsman never wants to lose, but there’s something different about boxing. Winning is something you always keep striving for. I’ve just come off a first round knockout and I looked good doing it. Now I’m in Miami. I can’t complain.”
The boxing champ certainly did look good at his fight against Suarez, walking out in a custom red leather Montirex jacket and shorts, decorated with a skeleton. Skeletons and exposed bones have become an iconic part of Whittaker’s fashion lore. His nickname, the Surgeon, comes from his methodical, clinical fighting style, but he took it one step further by incorporating skeleton imagery into his ring outfits. It’s also a bit of a good luck charm: “One of my earlier fights that went crazy online and got all the views was also the first time I wore the skeleton kit, so ever since we’ve just kept running with it.”
Whittaker is known for his flamboyance in the ring, often dancing around opponents. He cites his mother as the person who pushed him to perform: “She always used to say that I was going to be on TV, so I’ve had it instilled in me since I was a kid.” His natural showmanship has developed after years of hard work and he’s always drawn inspiration from the pageantry of WWE wrestlers. “They’re partly where I got it from,” he says. “There’s guys in WWE who know it’s all fake but they still go there because it’s about the performance, it’s about how you shine. I try to bring that into boxing.” Ultimately, Whittaker just wants to give viewers a show: “If people are paying their hard-earned money to come and watch me, I want them to leave wanting to see me again.”