Confusion was the order of the day after Boxing Commission of Fiji (BCF) chairman, Adi Narayan said during a press conference on friday that promoter Fred Chand has been interviewed by the Commission of Inquiry.

When contacted the South Pacific Boxing Promotion promoter said his interview did not take place on Thursday due to a request from his lawyer.

“My lawyer has talked to the Commission of Inquiry offering a date to conduct the interview,” Chand said from Sydney, Australia, on friday:

“My lawyer will be with me when I’m going to be interviewed. That is my legal right but as of now everything will come from my lawyer.”

Chand also added that he and SPBP director Mohammed Shameem are ready to face the Commission of Inquiry and tell it as it is.

The investigation is on the death of featherweight boxer Ubayd Haider who collapsed in the ring after his IBO Asia Pacific title fight in Nadi on October 26. The programme was promoted by SPBP.

The BCF headed by Narayan and board member Eroni Loganimoce called for a press conference to clear issues surrounding the investigations and the suspension of the SPBP license on November 29.

However, Loganimoce revealed that the reinstatement of the SPBP license would depend on the outcome of the investigation by the Commission of Inquiry: The Suva lawyer alleged Chand had breached the promoter’s agreement.

“We see that after asking the promoter to refrain or abstain from speaking on social media, he continued to do that,” he said.

“The other (alleged) attempt of creating hatred between the board, he did initiate that when we asked him to provide evidence, he prefer not to talk to us on that.

“The future of him (Chand) being granted another one (license) will depend on the finding from the Commission of Inquiry,” Loganimoce added.

He said the promoter’s license is renewed every year and Chand should have let the board know of his grievances rather than airing it on social media platforms.

The consequences of the October fight enforced BCF to be strict on the conditions of future boxing programmes.

“We want to keep boxing alive and clean. It has been our effort and this is a big challenge that we faced. And it will really make us do a review.”

Narayan said the investigation is not fully completed and they have extended their time and hope that the findings are finalised before the end of the month.

“We also give credit to SPBP, they’ve done well, they’ve given us some good programmes, no questions about that. But the point is, you got to respect the equation – it’s a respectable body, work with us.”

Narayan indicated that Blue Water Promotions will kick-off next year’s programme in February: He added that two individuals have showed interest to apply for their promoter’s license.

Feedback: sereana.salalo@fijisun.com.fj