What was supposed to be a big homecoming fight for undefeated two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-weight division world champion Claressa “T-Rex” Shields turned into an ugly situation when the 71-year-old trainer of Ivana Habazin was knocked out left in a bloody mess from being sucker punched at the weigh-in on Friday.
The scene was horrific with the elderly James Bashir Ali unconscious with blood all over the floor. Habazin was frantic and in tears as she rushed to her trainers side hoping he was still alive after the violent ordeal.
The altercation left a black eye on the sport of boxing and the fight was canceled because Habazin was clearly under emotional distress and would be without her head trainer Bashir Ali in her corner as he was rushed into emergency surgery for facial fractures from the sucker punch.
The unnamed suspect who tried to flee the scene after dozens of witnesses and cameras caught him on video was in custody and could face criminal charges.
Claressa Shields spoke about the sucker punch confrontation on her social media live stream and denounced the violent attack. She also said she didn’t know the person who did it and she only roles with an all female entourage and her boyfriend and her mangers are the only males in her group.
Even though the main event between of Shields vs. Habazin was canceled, Showtime will still air fights on the card boosting the two undercard fights up.
Undefeated Philadelphia welterweight Jaron Ennis versus Demian Daniel Fernandez will now be the main event and undefeated Michigan heavyweight prospect Jermaine Franklin will take on Pavel Sour of the Czech Republic as the co-feature of the Showtime Broadcast.
The broadcast, starts at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT on October 5, 2019 only on Showtime.
