Former heavyweight boxer Julius Francis’s bouncer license has been suspended after a video surfaced showing him thrashing a reveler.
Francis, who was knocked out by ‘Iron’ Mike during his competition in 2000, was working as a bouncer outside the boxpark at Wembley when he knocked the man unconscious with a single punch on 11 June.
Video of the incident, which went viral, showed a man insulting staff outside the venue and Francis, 57, intervening.
In the video, a man, wearing a blue scarf, can be heard shouting abusive words at Francis’ direction, ‘I hope you’ve had a heart attack, you’re fat****’ before he Push a small security guard.
After trying to escort the cleric away from the compound, Francis threw a punch that severed the man’s head and left him cold.
His actions have been praised by many on social media, and the Metropolitan Police confirmed last week that they have left the investigation to a punch-up.
However, it has come at a cost, as pointed out by the former boxer. tmz He has lost his security license as a result of the incident.
The man was knocked unconscious after being struck on the right hand by former champion Julius Francis
Francis (right) faced a hard blow to Mike Tyson (left) in a bout in Manchester in 2000
He told the US website that he was “rightly” arrested by police before taking “no further action” after taking statements from his manager, people at the door and watching CCTV.
He said: ‘I wasn’t so worried about it because it was actually me defending myself. I had a right to defend myself and that’s what I did when he raised his hand.
But he said the Security Industry Authority (SIA), which regulates the private security industry, has suspended his license.
He said: ‘SIA has suspended my license to work so I can’t work at the moment so I’m just trying to sort it out and hopefully get back in the door as soon as possible Get back to work as soon as possible. As far as possible.
Following the Boxpark incident, the venue’s CEO, Roger Wade, described him as “one of the nicest people he has ever met”.
Mr. Wade asked the audience to think about how they would react in a similar situation.
He said: ‘Come to know about a viral story about one of our security team.
‘Julius Francis, a former UK Heavyweight Boxing Champion, is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and in his spare time helps young underprivileged kids coach boxing.
‘My understanding is that Julius and our security team spent 15 minutes trying to stop this man and his friends from abusing, spitting and hitting our customers and employees.
‘They carefully pulled him out of the premises under constant provocation and violence.
22 years ago the former heavyweight boxer was knocked out during a competition with Tyson at the Manchester Evening News ground
At last the man came to Julius in a fighting way and he defended himself.
‘Acts of violence or misbehavior against any employee should never be tolerated. How would you react if someone approached you violently? If you were in my shoes what would you do next?’
Boxer fans began to joke about the ordeal – adding to the Boxpark bust-up on Francis’ Wikipedia page, citing the ‘victory’ against the ‘blue doo-rag man’.
Francis told TMZ, ‘It’s a crazy phase of social media and people’s popularity. I was really proved right by the way people went after me on social media.
‘We appreciate what you did, to say that you were right. The man was entitled to this and all such stuff. I felt right and it shows that people still think about me and appreciate what I did during my boxing career.
Fans jokingly changed Francis’ Wikipedia page after the incident to include the incident.
He said he would be interested in fighting Mike Tyson again after 22 years, when the hard-hitting American knocked him out in his match in Manchester.
‘I’ll keep it there. I never liked talking about money, but they could have made a good offer. Then, who knows,’ he said.
Francis was knocked out in 58 seconds in the second round of his fight with Tyson – the fourth time he was sent to the canvas during the bout.
During his career, Francis also fought Vitali Klitschko, but in 1998 his struggle was halted two rounds.
After retiring in 2006, he started a fitness company while working as a security guard.
Julius Francis: From stealing food on the streets of South London to being ‘stabbed eight times’ to heavyweight champion
Julius Francis (left) stuns Mike Tyson (right) before his match in Manchester in 2000
by Adam Luck for MailOnline
Birth of Julius Francis. Happened in Peckham to Caribbean parents in 1965. Along with his three siblings, Francis was reduced to stealing food from an early age as his mother succumbed to mental illness while his father worked away from home.
The four were taken into account when Francis was 10 years old and was placed with a white foster family, which saw ‘thin blacks’ fighting for a sense of identity and existence among skinheads and the National Front in Woolwich. had left.
Taking to the streets to fend for himself at age 16, Francis traded drugs, and by his own admission became a full-time criminal, using his rage and fighting skills to earn a living.
He told MailOnline in 2020: The ’80s were a crazy time for me. I was stabbed 8 times, I was shot and I used to fight a lot.’
But when Francis finds himself on remand in Brixton prison for crimes he once did not commit, he makes a vow to himself.
‘I was told that I am facing 10 years in prison. I told myself ‘If I am convicted I will be the worst prisoner ever. I will die in jail.’
‘But if I wasn’t convicted, I thought ‘I’m going to change my life.’
When he was acquitted, Francis took up amateur boxing and became the South East and London Divisional Champion, but he also worked as an unlicensed professional fighter.
‘I was security at an unlicensed bill in a Maidstone cow shed full of gypsies and fighting men, but when there were no fighters left on top of the bill I was offered the opportunity to pick up an apron for £500.’
When someone whistled at her double life, Francis pulled himself out of the ABA and had no choice but to turn professional in 1993 to support his growing family.
Francis began to build his career and reputation as he achieved Commonwealth and British heavyweight titles, and a Lonsdale belt outright.
In late 1999, Francis was given the opportunity to take on former undisputed world champion Mike Tyson, humiliated by his manager Frank Maloney, and took ‘two seconds’ to say yes.
Francis was paid £350,000. In contrast Tyson was paid £7m. Francis spent his money on a house he now longs for, a car for his girlfriend and a £5,000 gold and diamond necklace for himself.
Two months later, Francis fought and lost to a boxer whom he had already beaten, citing ‘mental and physical exhaustion’. This was the beginning of the end.
After a brief entry into MMA fighting, Francis began mentoring troubled children and eventually became a security guard and father of five.