Boxing: Chisora loses licence after Haye bust-up is stripped of his licence

 

Steve Bunce
Thursday 15 March 2012 01:00 GMT
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Dereck Chisora arrives at a British Boxing Board of Control hearing in Cardiff with promoter Frank Warren (left)
Dereck Chisora arrives at a British Boxing Board of Control hearing in Cardiff with promoter Frank Warren (left) (PA)

Dereck Chisora has had his licence to fight withdrawn after attending a British Boxing Board of Control hearing yesterday to discuss his part in a series of unfortunate incidents that took place in Munich last month.

Chisora could in theory apply for a new licence from the British board tomorrow but he is likely to wait an appropriate period of time before applying and continuing with his boxing career.

The boxer attended the Board's hearing at their headquarters in Cardiff with Frank Warren, his promoter, and his legal representative, Jonathan Crystal QC, and the trio spent nearly four hours behind locked doors.

"I will consider my next move during the next few days," said Chisora. "I will sit down with my team and look at all the options before making any move. I regret every single thing that happened and right now I just want to move on and continue my career."

There was no fine attached to the withdrawal of the licence and even more interestingly there was no set length for the boxer's exile from the ring.

"We will consider an appeal but first we will all sit down later this week to look back on what has happened and look forward to what can happen," said Warren.

Chisora does have the option to find a country, or even a state somewhere in the USA, that would give him a licence to continue fighting, but there is always a chance that the Board would ask any other sanctioning organisation to honour their decision and refuse his request.

On the night in Munich Chisora lost a points decision in his bold bid to win the WBC heavyweight title from Vitali Klitschko in a fight that was much better than expected.

However, the fight's action was eclipsed by three events that led to yesterday's hearing; first Chisora slapped Klitschko at the weigh-in, second he spat at Vitali's younger brother Wladimir in the ring before the fight and finally he scuffled with David Haye at the post-fight press conference. "I regret everything that happened, but there were extreme circumstances," claimed Chisora.

"As I said, we will consider all the options and then and only then will we move onto the next stage," confirmed Warren at the end of the meeting, which was said to have been a tense affair.

Warren has made no secret of his anger at the British board's inspector at the fight, Charles Giles, who was noticeably absent during a crucial period before the fight when Chisora's bandages were inspected by Vitali's brother Wladimir.

The scenes under the arena in the dressing room were explosive and at one point Chisora threatened to leave without fighting. Giles missed the routine inspection of the bandages, which takes place before all WBC title fights, despite claims that he was actually there as an inspector for the WBC.

"I'm disappointed that Charles Giles was not here today to answer questions about the evening in Munich," said Warren. "I have a lot of questions that I still need answers to. Anyway, it's over now and it's time to start looking at the future."

Chisora will next attend a meeting in London on 21 March when the WBC, the Mexico-based sanctioning body, will decide what ban or fine they intend to levy against the fighter. There had been speculation in the aftermath of the events in Munich that Chisora would be fined $100,000 (£64,000) and banned for life.

Haye was not at yesterday's hearing because at present he does not hold a valid British licence but it is thought that he will be called to explain his position to the WBC when and if his planned fight against Vitali Klitschko is announced in the next month or so.

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