Julius Francis has lost his license to work as a bouncer after a video went viral of the former boxer knocking out a punter with a single punch at Boxpark Wembley.
Francis, a former opponent of Mike Tyson, was seen flattening a man in a durag who had been acting aggressively towards members of staff last week. The clip spread like wildfire online with many well-known names including Tyson Fury defending Francis for acting in self-defence.
Last week, the Metropolitan Police confirmed they had dropped their investigation into the punch-up and the former British champion looked set to return to work. But in an interview with TMZ on Wednesday, Francis revealed that he had lost his Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence.
He said: “The SIA have suspended my licence to work so I can’t work at the moment, so I’m just trying to get that sorted and then hopefully back on the doors as soon as possible, get back to work as soon as possible.”
After the incident, Francis’ boss, Boxpark CEO Roger Wade rushed to his employee’s defence. “Julius Francis, is an ex-UK heavyweight boxing champion, he is one of the nicest people I have ever met and helps train young underprivileged kids boxing in his spare time,” wrote Wade in a Linkedin post.
“My understanding is that Julius and our security team spent 15 minutes stopping this man and his friends from abusing, spitting and hitting our customers and staff. They carefully escorted him from the premises under constant provocation and violence.
“Finally, the person approached Julius in a confrontational manner, and he defended himself. Acts of violence or abuse to any staff members should never be tolerated.”
MORE BOXING NEWS…
Fury shares theory why Joshua has picked a ‘good time’ to rematch Usyk
Joshua gives brutally honest verdict on first Usyk
Joshua and Usyk secure mouthwatering fee for Saudi Arabia showdown
Wade later tweeted an article detailing his response with the caption “#IStandWithJulius.”
A Security Industry Authority spokesperson said: “We have suspended Julius Francis’s door supervisor licence.
“In cases where we have suspended a licence and there is no ongoing Police investigation, before we consider what further action may be appropriate, we will often seek further information from other relevant sources, including the licence holder. This is particularly important when a violent incident has occurred, and the safety of a member of the public has potentially been put at risk.”
Francis retired from boxing in 2006 with a record of 23-24-1. During his career, he picked up the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles and boxed the likes of John Ruiz, Vitali Klitschko and ‘Iron Mike’.