Boxing: Fracas puts Harrison's bid for licence in doubt

Audley Harrison will try to obtain a promoter's licence tomorrow when he appears in front of the Southern Area of the British Boxing Board of Control.

Harrison is going ahead with his application despite the criticism he received for the chaotic scenes at the end of his last fight on Saturday night. Since Harrison turned professional his fights have been promoted by Jeff Harding in association with the sports promotional company that Harrison formed shortly after winning the Olympic Gold in Sydney.

Harrison also supplied the security for the inner ringside area where all of the problems took place on Saturday at York Hall, Bethnal Green, when Herbie Hide, one of Harrison's leading rivals, was at the centre of some very ugly scenes.

"I am sure that the incident on Saturday night will be considered by the members of the Southern Area council when they meet to discuss Harrison's application for a promoter's licence,'' confirmed Simon Block, the secretary of the British board, who has already been severely critical of Harrison's hired staff.

Harrison's application hearing will not be decided tomorrow but will be passed on to the committee of the British board and they will make a final decision on 11 June.

"I have watched tapes of the incident and spoken to a lot of people and I'm a bit annoyed at some of the things that I am hearing about what happened at York Hall,'' said Harding. "There were some fantastic fights on the undercard, but nobody is talking about them.'' Meanwhile Bethnal Green CID has confirmed that it is still investigating claims that a common assault took place on Saturday night during the mêlée.