The president of the Malta Boxing Commission denies he has been removed from his position as was claimed in a statement issued on Friday, October 25th, signed by former vice-president of the MBC Gianluca Rio Di Caro.
In a statement by President Alexander Zammit, who was supposedly removed, the commission denied issuing Friday’s statement and said that it had actually sacked Mr Di Caro earlier in the evening.
The MBC president said that earlier in the evening of Friday the 25th of October he informed Mr. Di Caro that for several reasons which were explained to him in detail in an e-mail, he was being asked to step down from the VP position so as to avoid being removed from his position.
Amongst the several reasons given for the dismissal of the VP -The board of the MBC informs everyone that the former vice president had done his hardest to block the applications for a promoter’s license to Mr. Stephen Vaughan Snr and Mr. Stephen Vaughn Jnr. who in Malta are known for their connections to the Floriana Football Club. They are also experienced boxing promoters, having promoted hundreds of boxing shows between them and worked with some of Europe’s top boxing / sport promotions. The MBC President also said that the MBC had awarded a license to the senior of the Vaughans but refused the application of the younger Vaughan as he still had active connections to another boxing federation in the UK.
The MBC president explained that another thorny issue with the former British VP was the fact that as was his right, he had established or was closely connected to recently established boxing promotions in the UK. One of which even carried the name of Malta but it was generally felt that allowing the VP to retain his position within the MBC would give him an unfair advantage not only over other promoters who are associated with the MBC but also over other boxing organizations which function and promote boxing in Malta. His direct or indirect personal involvement on the promotional side of the sport created a conflict of interest and so his position as a ranking official of the MBC was not tenable any longer and it is to be clear that the MBC asked him to step down voluntarily said Alexander Zammit.
Alexander Zammit Said that he wished to state most clearly that “The due diligence warnings by Mr. Di Caro in regard to the Vaughan family and their wish to expand boxing in Malta at all levels had in fact been heeded and carefully examined and the conclusion of the MBC is that in Malta the Vaughans are well respected and have in a short time become an integral part of the Malta sport community and they are investing time, effort and money into Maltese sport. Above all if they are good enough for the Floriana FC they are good enough for the MBC,” concluded the MBC President.
Update
The board of the Malta Boxing Commission in a meeting held in Bugiba, Malta on Sunday the 27th of October confirms and re-affirms in very strong terms the removal of Mr. Gianluca Di Caro from the post of VP to the Malta Boxing Commission.
1/ For failing to attend a single MBC meeting in Malta since its formation.
2/ For attacking publicly and without valid reason the Vaughan family and although not mentioned by name the reference was very obvious and left no doubt to whom he was referring too.
3/ For polices in relation to some sanctioning and professional boxing federation’s which the MBC does not support and feels are not either in the national nor in the MBC’s interest.
4/ For forming a personal trading company in the UK without authorization using the name “Malta Boxing Commission”
5/ Because the board of the MBC feels that his direct or close connection to recently formed boxing promotions companies due to his position as VP gives him an unfair advantage which makes his position untenable.
Further, the membership of Gianluca Di Caro from the MBC is also terminated due to his bad reaction to him being sacked from his position and issuing false and misleading statements to the world’s media.
“What we have here is a person residing in England, who has only been in Malta once for less than 24 hours and who was appointed as VP to represent the MBC interests outside of Maltese shores, deciding that he somehow owned the Malta Boxing Commission and could dictate and control how we decide to run our local boxing commission. The situation is simple; the members of the MBC do not want Di Caro to be on the board of the MBC for all the reasons mentioned. – Gianluca should keep in mind that his position within the MBC was largely by invitation and the fact that he only bothered to come to Malta once should speak volumes,” said the president of the Malta Boxing Commission.
