Boxing fraternity roundly condemns Chisora-Haye brawl

London: The world of boxing has rounded on Dereck Chisora and David Haye for their shameful display. Even Chisora's promoter Frank Warren was quick to condemn the fighters, calling the brawl "stupid".

Warren, who admitted he did not see the incident clearly until he was shown the video evidence by German police at 3am on Sunday, said he expected the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) to take prompt action.

He told Radio 5 Live: "They [BBBC] will have their own investigation. It is something we could certainly do without in boxing. It was just awful and I am sure the board will take appropriate action. If Dereck Chisora is found guilty of misconduct then they have a process to deal with it."

Later, he told Sky Sports: "Not that I'm condoning or trying to stick up for him [Chisora] — what happened was outrageous and wrong — but he certainly did not throw the first punch.

"It was an embarrassment to British boxing. He gave Vitali Klitschko the hardest fight since Lennox Lewis. It's just ridiculous that a guy can get in the ring and do so well and yet outside the ring he gets himself involved in some really horrible situations."

Disgraceful act

Wladimir Klitschko, the younger brother of Vitali and the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion, had water spat at him by Chisora in the ring just before Saturday's fight started. Warren said: "Outside of the ring it has to be punished and [they must] pay the penalty. The spitting of water in the ring is not right, we have to respect each other."

British heavyweight Audley Harrison, in the process of making another comeback, waded in on Twitter and said: "Frank Warren is a great promoter, but I wish he stopped Dereck leaving the podium to confront Haye — selling a fight is one thing, but when pride is on the line and tempers are raised, you cannot let two fighters confront each other."

Frank Maloney, former manager of ex-heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis, said he was "ashamed" to be in boxing.

Maloney added: "I gather David Haye was working for a television station, so he was entitled to be there, but I see him as being largely to blame for this. It wasn't his moment, so why did he get involved, shouting stuff and provoking people? ... The problem with both these guys, and a lot like them, is that they think they are Mike Tyson. They want to speak like him, act like him. It's a shame they can't actually fight like him."

— Daily Mail