British boxers Chisora, Haye facing lifetime bans for ugly brawl

MUNICH – British heavyweight boxers Dereck Chisora and David Haye are facing lifetime bans from the sport following their ugly brawl in Munich over the weekend.

The pair got into a punch-up Saturday night during a post-fight news conference following Chisora's defeat to WBC world champion Vitali Klitschko.

The German Boxing Federation is pursuing a lifelong ban for both men and contacted the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) requesting that Chisora's license be revoked, The (London) Daily Telegraph reported.

The British board said in a statement Monday that it was examining Chisora's behavior and investigating alleged misconduct but said it had no jurisdiction over Haye, who has retired.

The board's general secretary, Robert Smith, said in a BBC radio interview that a life ban was a possibility for Chisora.

"Of course it is. The board have many powers -- they can fine, they can suspend and they can withdraw a license," he said.

Chisora was arrested by German police and released without charge for his involvement, and authorities still want to talk to Haye, the former WBA champion. Police went to the German hotel Haye was staying in at 4:00am local time Sunday, but he had already left to fly back to Britain.

Haye's trainer, Adam Booth, said his fighter was not running from the German authorities and would return to be interviewed. Instead, the camp decided it was not sensible to stay in the hotel, as Chisora also was staying there.

"We left the press conference, and it would have been stupid to go back to the same hotel as Chisora and his mob," Booth said. "He had said he was going to assault David, and then screamed he was going to shoot him and burn him. We decided to go to the airport and get an early flight home."

Haye attended the fight as a commentator for a British outlet. During the news conference following Klitschko's unanimous points victory, he began yelling to the Ukrainian, demanding a fight.

After the Klitschko camp dismissed the calls, Chisora became involved, mocking Haye for his poor performance against Klitschko's brother Wladimir last year, which cost him his world title.

The pair then engaged in a yelling match, with Haye branding Chisora a three-time loser, before Chisora left the stage with his microphone in hand to confront Haye face to face.

Almost as soon as a stare-down developed, Haye landed an elbow on Chisora's jaw, and the two began brawling.

Both the Klitschko brothers were present but did not get involved.

Wladimir Klitschko called the incident "embarrassing and disgraceful" in a statement Monday and called for harsh penalties.

"There has to be consequences for these kinds of actions and must never be tolerated by the boxing organizations, the media, fellow boxers and boxing fans. It must be stopped; otherwise the sport of boxing is going to go down the hill fast!" he said.

Chisora, a 28-year-old Londoner, was earlier fined $50,000 for slapping Vitali Klitschko during the weigh-in and was unsurprisingly booed and jeered by the 12,000-strong crowd as he made his way to the ring before the Ukrainian's glitzy entrance.