Foreign boxers fake stats to land lucrative fights with UK champs, a Georgian insider claims
By Andy Jehring and Tim Ogden
Thursday, March 2
FOREIGN boxers are faking their stats to land lucrative bouts with UK champs, an insider claims.
Fights against Dereck Chisora and Dillian Whyte are among those alleged to have been hit by the scam.
A Georgian boxer says only three of their home fights were real and they never had a medical check.
Questions have also been raised over fighters’ records from four other European countries.
It is feared near 100 British boxers may have faced foreign fighters with dodgy paperwork and Matchroom Boxing says it “rings real alarm bells”.
Pro fighters from ex-Soviet bloc countries earn just ?15 a fight at home — but can make up to ?2,000 on the continent.
Managers fudge paperwork to send boxers to Britain as punch bags, taking half the cash, it is claimed.
The source, who cannot be named over safety fears, said: “It is a scandal.
Top fighters in Georgia are faking records to land fights with European boxers.”
In total, 89 Brits have fought rivals from the former Soviet republic, who the fighter believes puffed their records.
Chisora and Whyte both saw off Georgian heavyweight Beka Lobjanidze before their Brit title clash in Manchester in December.
Our source claims the Georgian made up bouts on website BoxRec.com to seal those fights.
Promoter Frank Warren said: “BoxRec’s the Bible of our business. I’m shocked. We look up records on BoxRec and agents in the country arrange the fights.
“Each country’s governing body approves fights on BoxRec, so if this is true the countries’ own bodies are in on it.
“If this is going on I will do everything I can to help sort it.”
BoxRec’s John Sheppard says they are now asking Georgia and others for video evidence of bouts.
Responding to claims from our source that Georgians even fake these, he said: “It is possible.
“We only ask for videos if the commission is on the Naughty List. Georgia is on the Very Naughty List.”
Anthony Leaver, of Matchroom, added: “If any fighter, not just in Eastern Europe, is doing this then it is a serious concern.
“If this is proved to be the case it would raise real alarm bells.”
Former world title challenger Martin Murray and Brit prospect Jack Massey also beat Georgians who allegedly have fake records.
In 2015, Murray floored Giorgi Beroshvili and Massey stopped Gogita Gorgiladze, who has 33 suspect bouts and was KO’d by Brit Nathan Gorman last week.
Our source said: “I’ve been at events these boxers say they’ve have fought in and they have not.
“If boxers fight in Europe and lose, they need to fight again fast. so they make up fake opponents to say they are ready again.”
Unlike other sports, boxing has no international regulator.
BoxRec.com allows managers to create boxers’ profiles with pics, age, weight and fight history.
UK promoters scour the site for opponents and ask medical records to be sent to the Board of Control, the British governing body.
But fighters need not be “verified” and our source says Georgian managers take advantage.
Leaver added: “We check all opponents’ records on BoxRec but we have a number of agencies we use to supply fighters.
“We’d want greater evidence of these fights.
“If footage didn’t exist we’d ask questions. Until five minutes ago I’d never consider people doing this, it really is a cause of concern.”
