A fixed fight?
Allegations are under investigation by the British Boxing Board of Control and the Gambling Commission, which have begun a probe of a heavyweight fight Saturday in Sheffield England, according to a report in the Sun.
The Sun reported that BBBofC secretary Robert Smith confirmed Monday that an investigation is underway
A suspicious spike in betting on Dave Allen’s third round stoppage of Dorian Darch prompted the investigation.
Allen, a 9-2 favorite, struggled through the first two rounds of the scheduled six-rounder. In the third, he stopped Darch. A couple of hours before the bout, there was a reported spike in wagers on an Allen to win in the third. According to SunSport, SkyBet detected the sudden surge in bets and alerted other betting shops in the U.K.
Darch (12-12, 10 KOs) was knocked down twice in the third. The first knockdown appears to the result of a glancing left hook.
Including Saturday, Darch has lost seven straight fights, all by stoppage. He hasn’t won a fight since July 2016. He denied on social media that there was any wrongdoing.
“Should have chucked a couple of quid on myself if I knew lol,’’ Darch said on Twitter
Allen (18-5-2, 15 KOs) also responded, saying: “People were saying it was a fix because I was planning on it being a six-round move around.
“A few of my mates had a lot of money on the points win and it didn’t come in, but I am not the sort of guy who picks a round to win, I am not really good enough to do that.’’