By James Slater – BBC Radio: Is a life ban a possibility? Robert Smith, Head Of The BBB of C: Yes, of course it is.
A suitable punishment is now being looked at after the nasty brawl rival British heavyweights David Haye and Dereck Chisora got into in Munich, Germany on Saturday night. BBB of C head Robert Smith, speaking on BBC Radio this morning, said a full investigation will soon take place and that a lifetime ban could be possible for both fighters.
Chisora, an active fighter, may have his licence to box for a living removed. Haye, a retired boxer, may never have his license reissued to him if the strictest possible punishment is given. Currently, everyone associated with the sport has an opinion on what should happen to the two fighters: promoter Frank Maloney says the two should definitely be banned for life, while former two-time super-middleweight king Carl Froch says he thinks a lifetime ban would be too severe a punishment.
The Board will now face heavy pressure to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, the search for Haye goes on. Reports say the former WBA heavyweight champ, who hit an advancing Chisora with a right hand that still held a glass bottle at the time of the punch, is “holed up in a country club” (the Mail online). Haye reportedly flew back to England in the early hours of Sunday morning, then briefly went home, before fleeing to his current hiding place, believed to be a country club. Scotland Yard may be brought in to assist in the search for the Londoner.
But Haye’s manager and trainer Adam Booth says he and his fighter “have nothing to run away from.”
The German police are saying they need to speak with Haye as they did with Chisora, so as to get his version of what happened at the post-fight press conference – but Booth is saying that neither he nor Haye has been contacted by the German police.
“Of course we would answer any questions, and would go to Germany to be interviewed,” Booth said. “We have nothing to run away from. We left the press conference, and it would have been stupid to go back to the same hotel as Chisora and his mob. He had said he was going to shoot and burn David. We decided to go the airport and get an early flight home.
“What David did was a defensive reflex. The man said he was going to slap him, walked twenty yards towards him, took his jacket off , went straight into a head-butt and shoved his fist into David’s chin. Everything was a defensive reflex from David.”
But will The Boxing Board agree with Booth? Had Haye not been holding a bottle at the time of his “defensive reflex,” things would likely look better for him. But Chisora instantly screamed how he had “been glassed.” Will The Board, or the police, look to charge Haye with assault with a glass bottle?
As for Chisora, he sheepishly returned to England late on Sunday night, presently a free man. However, the controversial fighter known as “Del Boy” has a possible charge of simple assault hanging over him. Both he and Haye may face a much stiffer penalty if their right to fight is taken away.