Ben Whittaker insists that he learned everything he needs to know about Liam Cameron from the five rounds their controversial first fight lasted.

Last October, the light heavyweights met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and were embroiled in an intriguing contest when they toppled backwards over the ropes at the end of the fifth round. With Whittaker unable to continue, the fight went to the scorecards and was declared a technical split draw.

They meet in a rematch at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena on Sunday night. The event will be televised by Sky Sports.

Only Whittaker, 8-0-1 (5 KOs), truly knows whether he got caught up in the whole Riyadh Season experience and underestimated the former Commonwealth middleweight champion first time around or whether he simply struggled with Cameron’s determination and solid, no thrills style.

Whatever the truth is, Cameron’s deliberate pressure begun to take its toll and before he knew it, Whittaker found himself in a real fight.

Most of the post-fight focus has been on the bizarre ending denying Cameron, 23-6-1 (10 KOs), a famous victory but the premature finish also prevented Whittaker from proving that he had the grittiness and boxing brain to overcome a tough spell and impose his will.

After recovering from the ankle injury he sustained during the tumble, Whittaker decided on a change of trainer and entrusted his future to Andy Lee.

He believes that Whittaker missed his best chance of scoring an upset win.

“All I have to do is see you once and I’ve seen him now, I've felt him now and he might believe it, he might not believe it but that was my worst, worst night and I'm happy I felt it,” Whittaker said during Sky Sports’ The Gloves Are Off show.

“I felt his ‘power’ as he says. I felt him trying to come on strong or go back. I felt it all and when you’ve felt it once and experienced it once, that’s all she wrote really.”

It is approaching five years since Whittaker won his Olympic silver medal and some of his contemporaries from the 2020 Games - fighters like Keyshawn Davis and Galal Yafai - have already won world titles or are competing right at the sharp end of their respective divisions.

Of course, every fighter progresses differently but being embroiled in a rivalry with a fighter like Cameron certainly won’t have been a part of the plan.

If Whittaker makes it out of the saga with a conclusive win, a new, accomplished trainer and a slightly different outlook on exactly what it takes to be successful then he will be able to look back on a rollercoaster six months and find plenty of positives.

If he were to come unstuck in a rematch at this kind of level, it would be a major setback and - as harsh as it sounds - maybe give an indication of his true potential.

Whittaker doesn’t feel as though this weekend is an early, make or break moment in his career. He believes that given the profile reputation he has built, every fight carries an element of pressure.

“For me, I think every fight my career’s been on the line. I can't say, ‘Oh because it’s Liam Cameron number two, my career's on the line,’” he said.

“Being the person I am, I’m the head honcho. Everybody wants to take me off the top and because of what happened - a silly little night - it's opened up this door for him.

“He wants more. He’s hungry. He’s tasted it now but I got to take that food off the plate, man.”