According to numerous reports in the UK, undefeated prospect Anthony Leak (3-0, 2 KOs) was hit with a big jail sentence after leading a life that few boxing pundits knew about.
Leak was unmasked as a heroin and cocaine kingpin just days before his first big TV fight.
When the charges came down, the 27-year-old middleweight prospect was set to fight Jason Ball on the undercard of Terry Flanagan’s fight against Petr Petrov at Manchester Arena, a fight that was broadcast on BT Sport.
Now Leak has been sent to jail for 11 years and four months.
The Manchester Evening News reports that six other men were jailed for a total of more than 32 years.
They were caught after police launched a wide ranging probe into the dealing of class A drugs across Greater Manchester, named Operation Segma.
Manchester Crown Court heard how between November 2016 and March last year, police discovered more than four kilograms of cocaine and other class A drugs including heroin.
The drugs seized had an estimated street value of £726,000, and officers also found a gun and ammunition.
Leak was arrested on April 5 of last year, days before the Flanagan-Petrov card at the Manchester Arena.
After the hearing, Vicki Kenyon of Greater Manchester Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Group, said: “Leak had everything going for him, by all accounts he could have been a very successful professional boxer, but clearly greed got in the way and he will now spend over 11 years behind bars to reflect on the sporting career he has denied himself of.
“I hope this investigation will go some way to showing how serious we are in our efforts to remove drugs from our streets and we will continue to target these organised crime networks. The sentence should send out a message to others who continue to go against the law and supply drugs or possess firearms. Drugs and fear will not be tolerated in our communities - we will find you and you will be brought to justice.”