BEN WHITTAKER was brought back down to Earth following his stunning Matchroom debut by his house being burgled.
The Tokyo 2020 silver medallist brutalised Benjamin Gavazi in the first round of their Birmingham bust-up on Saturday night.
Walsall lad Whittaker was on cloud nine after his emphatic promotional bow with Eddie Hearn.
But his joy soon turned to anger and frustration when he returned home to discover that thieves had ransacked his house.
And the scoundrels had even made off with his IBF light-heavyweight international belt he won last June.
Whittaker, 28, revealed the robbery in a video on his social media channels just hours after the fight, saying: “Highs and lows of the sport.
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Fight night
Benjamin Gavazi needs oxygen in ring after sickening Ben Whittaker KO
“[I] come back [from my fight] [and my] house has been burgled.
“But Wednesbury, I got a big, big reward. Find these people — let me know.
“They’ve even took my IBF [International] belt.
“What are they going to do with that?”
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“Let me know, hit me up in the DMs. [There’ll be] a big reward. Much love.”
The break-in ruined what should’ve been a special night for Whittaker, who started his namesake with an absolute nuke of a right hand.
After having his hand raised, he said: “When you walk out pretty like that, you have to back it up and that’s what I did.
“Andy [Lee] said in the locker room, ‘What you do in sparring is enough. Just go out there, work behind your shots, and it will all come together’.
“And damn, I looked good. At the end of the day, I could see he was a game kid; I could see it in his eyes.
“This was an opportunity to change his life. “But at the press conference, he let something slip.
They’ve even took my IBF [International] belt. What are they going to do with that?”
Ben Whittaker
“He said, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose’. Well, I’m a person who has everything to lose.”
New promoter Hearn said: “All I can say is wow. Sometimes people come into an arena and light up the place.
“But what matters is what happens in here, the ring.
“We know there are many levels above Gavazi that we need to reach.
“But when you face that level, you go in, destroy them clinically, and produce a showreel knockout the whole world watches for the next week.
“Millions and millions of views are watching this young man, who is truly special.”
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
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