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5 months ago
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Eddie Hearn has revealed he was forced to cancel a Matchroom Boxing fight at the last minute this weekend after being made aware of irregular betting patterns.
Hearn made the decision to wave off the showdown between Aqib Fiaz and Kane Baker just hours before the event was set to begin in Birmingham on Saturday.
The super featherweight contest featured on the undercard of the middleweight title fight between Tyler Denny and Felix Cash at the Resorts World Arena.
Despite the incident, the rest of the evening proceeded as scheduled.
A statement from Matchroom initially claimed 'unforeseen circumstances' were behind the cancellation before Hearn revealed the real reason later in the evening.
Eddie Hearn cancelled a Matchroom Boxing fight due to irregular boxing patterns
Aqib Fiaz (left) and Kane Baker (right) were set to face off in Birmingham on Saturday night
'Due to unforeseen circumstances Aqib Fiaz vs. Kane Baker 2 is off,' the statement, released on X, said. '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.'
The betting irregularities were first scrutinised by Hearn and his team and the British Boxing Board of Control are thought to have already launched an investigation.
'There isn't any point in trying to keep it under wraps in all honesty,' Hearn told Boxing Social. '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.'
An 'extremely uncomfortable' Hearn also expressed his shock with the matter.
'In 15 years I've never dealt with a situation like this,' he added. 'Pre-fight, two weeks out, 16 weeks before, never ever, it was a new one for me. It's very disappointing.
The British Boxing Board of Control have launched an investigation into the matter which has left promoter Hearn 'extremely uncomfortable' (pictured: Baker during the public workout)
Hearn and his team first scrutinised the irregularities before reporting them to the authorities
In a statement on his Instagram stories, Fiaz said had no involvement in the situation
'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.'
In a statement posted on his Instagram stories, Fiaz said had no involvement in the situation, saying: 'Tonight's fight was cancelled due to a situation I was unaware of and had no involvement in. There is an ongoing investigation.
'I have been advised to make no comments at this time.'
Baker also denied any potential involvement in an expletive post, saying: 'People chatting s*** about the interview and fans saying I pulled out. I am an honest fighter. You all know me. You know what I'm about. I take hard fights and leave it in the ring.
'All I do is earn for my family what I can. I am no cheat. I have never and would never bet against myself to lose a fight no matter how much I am pressured. I am happy for the investigation to go ahead and happy for anyone around me to be investigated.
'My whole career can be investigated. NOBODY from Team Baker has done any betting. Nobody in my team has agreed to me losing any fight. I don't give a f*** what the other team says. I would never take a dive for no c***.'
Fiaz and Baker first faced off against each other in 2020 with the former earning a points victory. Their fight on Saturday was set to be a long-awaited rematch.
English (US)