Trainer Billy Hussein is vehemently denying that his fighter Paul Briggs took a first round dive earlier this week (July 21) against Danny Green.
The fight lasted a mere 30 seconds when Briggs fell forward on the canvas after being hit with a grazing left jab. Green, who was co-promoter on the bout, blasted Briggs post-fight on the house microphone.
“He dogged it. My chihuahua has more balls than him,” he fumed.
Hussein maintains that Briggs was completely disoriented following the TKO. He explained that Briggs had no recollection of the punch connecting.
“He says he has no idea what happened,” he said on the way to the hospital after the fight. “We’re taking him straight to hospital. He doesn’t know what hit him, doesn’t know what happened.”
An investigation into the betting for the fight revealed that an unusual amount of betting was made on a 1st round KO. The occurence was noted by Austrian betting company TAB Sportsbet.
“The money just kept coming in on the first,” said firm representative Glen Munise to Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
Today, Danny Green reversed his previous stance after reviewing the footage. He believes that Briggs suffered a “brain stem injury” and his knockout was legitimate.
Paul Briggs has yet to comment on his defeat. His hospital evaluation is not available at this time.
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I tend to always give fighters the benefit of the doubt, especially since they are getting punched in the face for a living. But if that huge first round betting turns out to be true, it pretty much eliminates any idea that this fight was legit. Still, why take the drive on such a filmsy punch? Then again we’re dealing with boxers, not actors. Judge the film again for yourself.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 