Former world champion boxer Glenn McCrory has been found not guilty of a string of sexual assaults during a dinner before an Anthony Joshua title fight.
The former cruiserweight, 59, was accused of stroking the arms and making suggestive comments towards three girls before he attended the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the prize fight in September 2021.
Wood Green crown court heard Mr McCrory, the guest speaker at the dinner event, was accused of calling the girls “darling”, “pet”, and “babe”.
However he insisted those were normal terms to use in the north-east and he was just being friendly.
Mr McCrory said he may have touched their arms but denied there was a sexual motive, saying he was only trying to get the girls’ attention.
In his police interview, the ex-champion boxer - known in his heyday as the “Northern Warrior” - apologised if he had accidentally caused any offence.
“In the north-east people are very different and a lot friendlier than in London”, he said.
He also denied being drunk at the dinner event, or winking suggestively at his accusers.
Mr McCrory and his fellow dinner guests were in London to watch Anthony Joshua take on Ukrainian Aleksandr Usyk in a world title bout at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
McCrory, who won the IBF cruiserweight world title in June 1989 and became a regular co-commentator on Sky Sports after his retirement, was a guest speaker at the dinner.
He was arrested and questioned shortly after the incidents, he was charged in March 2022, and then faced an 18-month wait for a trial.
A jury cleared McCrory, of Burnopfield, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, of three charges of sexual assault at the end of a four-day trial.
