Boxing legend Wladimir Klitschko's former coach James Ali Bashir has been brutally attacked on Friday night. According to several US media, the American was beaten unconscious while being weighed in the run-up to the fight between Croatian Ivana Habazin and local hero Claressa Shields in Flint, Michigan, and then hospitalized with head injuries.
The association WBC canceled the fight scheduled for Saturday. "The WBC condemns any kind of violence at events related to our sport, especially after the cruel attack that took place at an official event," the World Boxing Council wrote in a statement on Twitter. The association will pursue the investigation of the authorities.
According to eyewitnesses, Habazin coach Bashir had recently had a verbal battle with an unknown person. The police allegedly detained a suspect in Michigan, as the portal "TMZ" reported. Whether the fight between Shields and Habazin is postponed to another day is still unclear.
