Boxpark’s founder and CEO has spoken out in support of Julius Francis after a video of the former heavyweight champion punching a customer at the establishment went viral.
Francis, 57, retired from professional boxing in 2006, with a defeat by Mike Tyson in 2000 marking the biggest bout of his career.
The Briton now coaches boxing and has been working as a security guard at Boxpark Wembley, where an incident with a customer took place on Monday. A video of the incident outside Boxpark has gone viral on social media, showing Francis punching the customer in question, who then drops to the floor.
In a statement provided to The Sun, a spokesperson for Boxpark said: “Our team are aware of footage being shared online.
“This incident is currently under review and part of an ongoing police investigation, and therefore we are unable to comment further on the incident at this time. We would like to stress that the safety and welfare of our customers and our staff is our number one priority.”
Boxpark founder and CEO Roger Wade has since addressed the situation in a LinkedIn post.
“Woke up to a viral story about one of our security team,” Wade wrote. “Julius Francis is ex UK heavyweight boxing champion, he is one of the nicest people I have ever met and helps train young underprivileged kids boxing in his spare time.
“My understanding is that Julius and our security team spent 15 minutes stopping this man and his friends from abusing, spitting and hitting our customers and staff. They carefully escorted him from the premises under constant provocation and violence. Finally the person approached Julius in a confrontational manner and he defended himself.
“Acts of violence or abuse to any staff members should never be tolerated. How would you react if someone approached you violently? What would you do next if you were in my shoes? #istandwithjulius.”
Francis retired with a professional boxing record of 24-23-1, having achieved 12 of his wins via knockout.
The Independent has contacted Boxpark over the matter.
