Despite a global lockdown to prevent the spread of the Covi-19 virus, a boxing event in London last week is under scrutiny after two Turkish boxers and their had coach tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Turkish Boxing Federation is pointing figures at the International Olympic Committee for putting athletes in jeopardy after it held an Olympic qualifying event at the Copper Box Arena. The event featured around 350 fighters from 40 countries according to The Guardian. After just 3 days, the event was suspended due to concerns over fighters, coaches, referees and others contracted the coronavirus.
Eyup Gozgec, the president of the Turkish Boxing Federation, stated that he would submit a formal complaint to the IOC stating that in addition to the event, there was not enough medical precautions either at the venue or the hotel where the fighters stayed. The event also left boxing federations out of money for the event as Gozgec indicated that they needed to pay a full upfront payment to be in Europe for 15 days. The event was cancelled after three days.
Payout Perspective:
The UFC should look at this news as a harbinger for things to come as it continues to plan for UFC 249. With the White House issuing guidelines which will advise the country to social distancing at least through April 30th, this event will need to take place outside of the United States. The liability is immense if the UFC were to self-regulate so the possibility of Tony-Khabib happening in 3 weeks keeps getting slimmer.
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