Banned for 'one of the worst behaviours ever by a professional boxer'
British promoter Frank Warren hit out at the World Boxing Council on Wednesday after the governing body slapped heavyweight Dereck Chisora with an indefinite suspension.
In an unusual move, the WBC unilaterally banned Chisora late Tuesday following the fighter’s antics before, during and after his recent title defeat to Vitali Klitschko in Germany.
Chisora slapped Klitschko at the weigh in, spat water in the face of the Ukrainian’s brother Wladimir and then got involved in a brawl with British heavyweight David Haye at the post-fight press conference.
The WBC described Chisora’s actions as a “one of the worst behaviours ever by a professional boxer” as it announced its ban.
However Warren branded Chisora’s ban as “outrageous” on Wednesday, blasting the WBC for not giving the fighter a chance to explain himself before imposing its punishment.
“There are a lot of things that happened behind the scenes that need to be taken into account,” Warren told Sky Sports News. “For the WBC to do this is outrageous.
“What happened outside the ring I’m not condoning, but you cannot do this to anybody without letting them have a hearing.
“Dereck Chisora got beaten, he wasn’t a champion, therefore it’s easy for them to do this. How can you not allow anybody a fair hearing? Everybody’s entitled to a fair hearing, whatever you think of them, whatever you’ve seen.
“There is a procedure which should take place and then determine whether and if there is a punishment necessary,” Warren said.
Chisora has been removed from the WBC’s rankings list and the organisation is demanding that he undergo anger-management counselling.