Wednesday 22 June 2022 09:38 PM Julius Francis' bouncer license is suspended after video showing former boxer ... trends now
Former heavyweight boxer Julius Francis has had his bouncer license suspended after video emerged showing him knocking out a reveller.
Francis, who was knocked out by 'Iron' Mike during their contest back in 2000, was working as a bouncer outside BoxPark in Wembley when he left the man unconscious with a single punch on June 11.
Video of incident, which went viral, showed a man outside the venue hurling insults at staff and 57-year-old Francis intervening.
In the video, one man, wearing a blue du-rag, can be heard yelling profanities in the direction of Francis, 'I hope you have a heart attack, you fat ****' before he then shoves a smaller security guard.
After trying to move the reveller away from the premises, Francis threw a punch which clipped the man's head and knocked him out cold.
Many on social media have applauded his actions, and the Metropolitan Police confirmed last week that they have dropped the investigation into the punch-up.
However it has come at a cost, as the former boxer told TMZ he has lost his security license as a result of the incident.
The man was left unconscious after the right-hand blow from former champion Julius Francis
Francis (right) famously faced off with hard hitting Mike Tyson (left) in a bout in Manchester in 2000
He told the US website that he had been 'rightly' arrested by police before being released with 'no further action' after taking statements from his manager, people at the door and looking at the CCTV.
He said: 'I wasn’t worried so much about that because it was actually me defending myself. I had the right to defend myself and that’s what I did when he raised his hands.'
But he added that the Security Industry Authority (SIA), which regulates the private security industry, has suspended his license.
He said: 'The SIA have suspended my license to work so I can't work at the moment, so I'm just trying to get that sorted and then hopefully back on the doors as soon as possible, get back to work as soon as possible.'
Following the incident at BoxPark, the CEO of the venue Roger Wade, described him as 'one of the nicest people' he's ever met.
Mr Wade asked viewers to think about how they would react in a similar situation.
He said: 'Woke up to a viral story about one of our security team.
'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.
The former heavyweight boxer was knocked out during his contest with Tyson at the Manchester Evening News arena 22 years ago
'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?'
Fans of the boxer were quick to joke about the ordeal - adding the Boxpark bust-up to Francis' Wikipedia page, citing a 'win' against 'blue
