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Haye likely to avoid BBBC rap

David Haye destroyed Audley Harrison inside three rounds to make a second successful defence of his WBA heavyweight title © PA Photos

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David Haye is likely to escape any punishment from the British Boxing Board of Control after secretary Robert Smith accepted the heavyweight champion's declaration that he did not place a bet on himself in his demolition of Audley Harrison.

The manner of Haye's third-round victory at the MEN Arena in Manchester had prompted the BBBC to consider investigating claims that the WBA heavyweight champion had placed a bet on himself to knock Harrison out in the third round.

The Londoner suggested in his post-fight interview that he and his friends and family had made money from gambling on the outcome of the contest but, after hearing Haye clarify what had happened during a radio interview, Smith said the board had accepted the boxer's explanation of events.

Haye told Radio 5 Live: "I didn't physically go into a betting shop and say 'here's x amount of money'. What I did say was I would knock Audley out in three rounds. If he came out earlier I would have knocked him out earlier. My prediction was the third round and I told a lot of people that."

"I don't need to [place bets on myself]. I made enough money from the fight anyway. I don't need to earn extra money, but I told a lot of people around me. It makes the fight a little more exciting for people."

Smith, who was ringside for the fight, told Press Association Sport: "David himself has denied it. He has denied he put any money on himself. He predicted the round and obviously people can listen to his prediction, but he has denied he physically got anybody or he himself went and put a bet on himself.

"We have a regulation in place that does not allow anybody to bet on a contest they are taking part in. So if he admitted it, he would have been in breach of that regulation. But he has denied it quite categorically."

"The board will consider his comments in their next meeting," Smith told Sky Sports later in the day. "We're not going to call an immediate enquiry, we're just going to carry on as normal. We're going to meet up in December as normal, as the board always does every month and, as every show that takes place in Great Britain, we look at all the pitfalls of every show. Obviously David's comments will be looked at and then we'll take it from there. He's obviously gone back and said something completely different and we have to see if we accept that.

"I did hear it last night, I had a lot of phone calls on my way home from Manchester. It's disappointing because first and foremost it's a breach of the board's rules and regulations and just like every other sport, we are being looked at very closely with the betting as it is at the current time and we don't really need the world heavyweight champion saying he's betting on this and betting on that. I don't personally believe he did, I just think he said it in the heat of the moment after the fight.

The first two rounds of the bout failed to deliver much in the way of action but Smith rejected claims Haye deliberately did not put his foot on the gas until the third round.

"I don't think so," he said. "I was at the fight and to be honest with you, both of them were scared to get beaten, I think, in the first round. It's a bit like a football match. I was at Cardiff City v Swansea last week and they were (both) petrified of losing. It was a poor game. And I think in the fight David was wary of walking straight in on a big man like that, and Audley was wary of getting hit by a smaller bloke.

"I watched it again last night and although it wasn't the best first round I've ever seen, I can understand where they were coming from. But I think you have to say when David did open up, the man was hurt. He didn't fall down, he was hurt, and he got up to fight again. I was there, I didn't think anything of it at the time. Obviously with all the hullabaloo you think about these things but no, I'm satisfied there was nothing untoward going on."

Harrison, meanwhile, has come under fire for a lacklustre showing, landing a solitary punch in two and a half rounds. But, although Smith confirmed the board will investigate Harrison's weak display, he made it clear that it would be harsh to deny the former Olympic champion his purse.

"We'll consider the reports," said Smith. "We have powers to withhold the money of any boxer we do not think has given 100%. I spent time with Audley on the day of the weigh-in, at the rules meeting and during the course of the day and I'm of the opinion he was convinced he was going to win. Absolutely convinced.

"The fact he didn't, and that he didn't really turn up, is very disappointing but he's got to live with that, ultimately. I think it would be extremely harsh to withhold money from him. However, the board will look at it when all the reports come in. But I wouldn't have thought so."

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