Caborn blasts boxers

on December 8, 2008 by Administrator

The president of the Amateur Boxing Association of England has responded to recent criticism from boxers including Olympic hero, James DeGale. These individuals have claimed that the ABA has betrayed British boxers and failed to give them the support they deserve.

However, Richard Caborn has revealed that James DeGale and Tony Jeffries, two boxers who have recently decided to turn professional, have bitten “the hand that fed them”.

DeGale and Jeffries both believe that the ABA owes them money, with the former thinking that he is owed money as a result of his Olympic success, and the latter stating that he may consider taking legal action if bonuses apparently owed to him are not paid.

In response to these claims, Caborn sarcastically claimed that he was “sorry that both James and Tony have chosen to attack the body that has invested over £100,000 a year each to bring them” to their current positions as boxing stars.

He also spoke of his bitterness at the apparent motivations lying behind the recent decisions to turn professional. Whilst the ABA had been hopeful of keeping the young boxers as amateurs during the run-up to the London Olympics, the lure of big money coming from promoters including Frank Warren, has rendered this impossible.

Caborn ended his scathing attack by revealing his belief that professional boxing should provide money to the grass-roots level of the sport. This kind of situation exists in football, with the Premier League helping out financially, and the president believes it should be replicated in boxing.