Thaindian News

London, Nov 16 (ANI): WBA champion David Haye may be in trouble with boxing chiefs despite withdrawing his claim that he engineered a betting coup in his knockout win over Audley Harrison.

Haye was stunned after boxing chiefs said they were ready to withhold Harrison’s purse after the three-round world title farce in Manchester, the Daily Express reports.

Harrison landed just one punch before ref Luis Pabon stopped the heavyweight bout.

The British Boxing Board of Control will discuss the controversy at their next meeting in December, although secretary Robert Smith said that Haye’s U-turn had been accepted.

Haye moved quickly yesterday to amend his comments, saying: “I didn’t physically go into a betting shop and say, ‘Here’s X amount of money’. What I did say was I would knock Audley out in three rounds. My prediction was the third round and I told a lot of people that.’

“There was no online betting. It did feel like I’d bet on myself because a lot of people had put money on it, family members and whatnot,” the Daily Express quoted him, as saying

The fight has already stirred a huge row, with outraged fans who attended and pay-per-view television viewers declaring that they felt cheated by Harrison’s feeble performance.

Haye is likely to escape with a slight censure over his betting claims, with the Board accepting that they were made during his immediate excitement over his victory. (ANI)