BBBofC postpone all events this weekend
At the very last minute, the BBBofC cancelled Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall, after previously cancelling the Friday night events only.
The BBBofC released the following statement shortly after midday today: "The British Boxing Board of Control have decided that all tournaments this weekend will be postponed as a mark of respect to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We join as a nation in mourning and pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, honouring her dedication to our country during her long reign and the legacy she leaves behind."
This followed on from their earlier tribue to Her Majesty, "The Stewards and staff of the British Boxing Board of Control are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Sincerest and deepest condolences are sent to the Royal Family. We join our nation in mourning her loss."
Claressa Shields made her own statement in response: "What can I say… I was 159 pounds today, I was mentally and physically ready for tomorrow. I’m sad about the fight being postponed but I’m a big girl and I understand! The country of the UK has took a huge loss of Queen Elizabeth and the country is mourning, the world is too."
Tim Rickson, BBN Editor, reacted to the breaking news: "The death of Queen Elizabeth has pushed the enitre nation into a state of mourning, myself included, and there will be many days ahead of loss and reflection. BBN have personally paid tribute to the Queen already and will continue do everything possible to pay their heartfelt respects.
"Personally, I don't believe the cancellation of sporting events shows any sign of respect to the memory of our Queen, nor can I see anything positive that can come from it. I feel so sorry for those boxers who have trained so hard for the past two or three months only for their fights to be cancelled at the very last minute. They do not deserve such terrible treatment.
"Now the fight has been postponed until October, following a three month camp, some of these athletes may not have received a wage packet for over four months by the time fight night finally arrives. I, for one, would not be able to afford living without four month's wages, so I sincerely hope the boxers are able to get by financially during the next few weeks. This may not apply so much to the main events, but some of the fledgling pros or the small hall fighters on the Friday shows that were cancelled, may be facing hardship because of this decision, which is unfair and unacceptable.
"The FA have cancelled all matches this weekend, meaning kids as young as five or six have been left disappointed. I'm not exactly sure how stopping a child playing football can be in any way respectful to anyone or anything. A minute's silence before each match would have taught a much better lesson to the youth, who may not truly understand how valuable the Queen was to the nation. Other sports are continuing and paying their respects during events, which is far better to have an event that pays their respects than no event at all.
"We have been ruled by a strong, inspirational female leader for 70 years and we have just cancelled an inspirational, historic, groundbreaking all-female boxing event to pay our respects, when allowing it to go ahead will have been far, far more respectful.
"I'm thoroughly disappointed in this decision, but it's another sign that shows the BBBofC are very old fashioned, out of touch, and archaic. Their decision is not respectful, it's nonsensical."
Others took to social media to share their disagreement over the decision to cancel all boxing events:
Anish Parekh: "So many things wrong with cancelling the boxing this weekend that I don't even know where to begin."
Gloves Red: "Poor decision that will be welcomed by few. Could have shown respect without cancelling. Achieves nothing."
Ade Oladipo: "What an absolute JOKE to move the Shields-Marshall fight to Oct 15th… awful decision, so many other sports have decided to continue on the weekend and boxing does this… WHY?"
Everything Boxing: "Terrible call."
