Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed the shocking news that saw him forced to cancel a fight due to irregular betting patterns that were discovered surrounding the contest.
Hearn promoted an event in Birmingham on Saturday which saw a fight pulled at the last moment, with Aqib Fiaz’s clash against Kane Baker cancelled and the following statement released by Matchroom Boxing.
“Due to unforseen circumstances Aqib Fiaz vs. Kane Baker 2 is off. Before The Bell now begins at 4:45pm with the first fight at 5:15pm. The live DAZN broadcast begins at 7pm as originally planned.”
Hearn has now revealed to Boxing Social the shocking reason behind the cancellation, after irregular betting was flagged and then investigated by his team.
“There isn’t any point in trying to keep it under wraps in all honesty. I was made aware of some irregular betting activity around the fight. Once I got the information I investigated it. I did that myself, I did that with my team, I did that with the gambling commission and I made the decision to pull the fight.
“When I did that I spoke to the British Boxing Board of Control, I told them everything I had done and said I’m going to pull the fight. They agreed with me and now it will be over to them to carry out their own investigation.
“In 15 years I’ve never dealt with a situation like this. Pre-fight, two weeks out, 16 weeks before, never ever, it was a new one for me. It’s very disappointing. The truth will come out, but all the information that I was given at the time made me feel extremely uncomfortable and resulted in me pulling the fight.”
Fiaz has also released a statement surrounding the matter, confirming that he had no involvement in the situation.
“Tonight’s fight was cancelled due to a situation I was unaware of and had no involvement in. There is an ongoing investigation and I have been advised to make no comments at this time.”
Fiaz and Baker had originally met back in 2020, with Fiaz earning a points victory. More news on the shocking revelation regarding the betting irregularities is expected in the coming days.
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