Briggs to appeal $75,000 fine.

Thursday, November 4, 20100 comments

PAUL Briggs claims he has been made a scapegoat after an inquiry found he participated in a "sham contest".

The finding arose as he failed to disclose the full extent of his health problems before a farcical fight with Danny Green.

Briggs was felled in 29 seconds after a glancing blow to the head during the July bout in Perth.

Western Australia's Professional Combat Sports Commission yesterday cleared Green of any wrongdoing, but fined Briggs $75,000 of his $200,000 earnings and cancelled his registration in the state.

The commission found his trainer, Billy Hussein, ought to have known Briggs was in no condition to engage in a genuine contest because of problems with his nervous system and so also participated in a sham fight. He has effectively been banned from the sport in WA, after the commission ruled it was unlikely to view favourably any application by him to register.

Briggs said yesterday he had told examining doctors about the "undiagnosed" problems. "It's a joke," he said. "Danny Green knew exactly what he was doing. I got into the best shape I could and this is just the commission trying to cover themselves and charge me for the expense. I passed every single medical test that they had."

He plans to appeal against the findings.

The fight had been switched from Perth to Sydney after the NSW Sports Combat Authority refused to sanction the bout due to concerns over Briggs' health.

Commission chairman Simon Watters defended the decision to approve the fight in Perth and the examination of Briggs' medical records. "Those medical reports gave him clearance," he said.

No findings were made on a massive betting plunge before the fight. The commission has referred the issue to police.