By Elliot Foster
Hasan Karkardi and Liam Wilkins have been suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control following the sparring incident which saw Nick Blackwell admitted to hospital for a second time.
The Trowbridge-born former British middleweight champion was rushed there after participating in a sparring session and falling ill.
The incident, which was revealed on November 26, came just eight months after Blackwell’s boxing career was ended when he was placed into an induced coma following his loss to Chris Eubank Jr. due to a bleed on his skull.
The Board have now confirmed the identities of those involved in the incident and handed the pair bans from the sport with immediate effect.
Karkardi (7-1, 1 KO) was the boxer Blackwell sparred with, while Wilkins, the Iranian-born fighter’s trainer, oversaw the session at Devizes Amateur Boxing Club.
Karkardi, who escaped from his native Iran in 2012 and was living in London before moving to Bristol, was set to fight Chris Hobbs this Saturday, for the vacant Southern Area light-heavyweight title in Portsmouth, but that fight was swiftly cancelled in the wake of these developments.
He and Wilkins –– who was only handed his trainer’s licence in February this year –– were suspended immediately and must attend a Board hearing in January. Two other unidentified licenced boxers were also present in the gym, though they were not involved in the sparring, and they have been called to give evidence.
Blackwell, 26, is no longer sedated but remains in hospital following the incident as is having his condition monitored closely.
Prior to this, he had fully recovered from the injuries suffered in the aftermath of the defeat to Chris Eubank Jr. and was as recently as October handed a trainer’s licence by the Board after having his boxer permit revoked.
