Fan to see boxer whose videos helped cancer fight

A woman who lost her job after being diagnosed with cancer has flown nearly 4,000 miles from US to see the Birmingham boxer who helped bring a smile back to her face.

Cassondra Gainey, from North Carolina, discovered Ben Whittaker, of Wolverhampton, through his social media videos and said they made her laugh.

"I love his confidence and his fighting style, and I like that you're able to see his personality through his fighting style," she told the BBC, after her 3,899 mile (6274 km) journey.

The Whittaker superfan's UK jaunt will take her to Birmingham's Utilita Arena, where she will be sitting three rows from the front during his world title eliminator bout against Conor Wallace on Saturday.

Gainey said: "For the first time in a long time, I felt happy. He makes me happy just watching him.

"I was diagnosed with cancer in January 2024. It's been a rough two years.

"My agency was abolished and I was separated in April this year. I was sort of just lounging around on the couch, not being productive at all."

Throughout this tumultuous time, she turned to social media for distraction and relief from her struggles.

"I was watching TikTok reels and some Ben Whittaker highlight reels came up. I just started watching and laughing. I hadn't felt a response like that before," Gainey continued.

"I just kept watching and I was laughing and laughing."

"I started telling my friends and family, 'I saw this boxer', and after about 10 days I was like, 'I think I might go see him'," she recalled.

"They were all for it because they wanted me to get out of the house and start living life."

She booked a 17-hour trip, her first time leaving the US, and has made her way to Birmingham to watch 29-year-old Whittaker take on Wallace in the final eliminator for a potential fight with Russia's three-belt champion Dmitry Bivol.

World title contender Whittaker said all he could do is "keep knocking on the door and hopefully it will open" in his bid to secure a shot at the IBF light-heavyweight crown.

Gainey, one of his biggest supporters, will be there to watch him try.

"He's undefeated, so he knows what he's doing. I like that he trusts himself enough not to change what he's doing despite the outside naysayers and influencers," she said.

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