Habeeb ‘Portable’ Badmus has alleged that his defeat to Carter Efe at the Chaos in the Ring 4 event in Lagos was manipulated to prevent organisers from settling massive betting payouts, arguing that the contest was halted before he had the chance to continue.
“It was cheating. They couldn’t pay the money, so they rigged it. We are the ones who won, so they ripped me. They couldn’t pay the N23 billion that people bet on me. If Portable wins, they can never pay the money,” the ZaZoo crooner said.
He also maintained that the decision to stop the bout lacked justification, drawing comparisons with his earlier celebrity boxing encounters.
“They should have let us keep fighting. They said I was panting — I did the same against Charles Okocha. All they should have done was pour water on me so I could go and beat him, but they said the fight was over,” he said.
Portable was eventually defeated by unanimous decision, with all three judges awarding a 27-30 scoreline in favour of Efe after three rounds, ending his run as celebrity boxing champion following previous victories over Charles Okocha and Speed Darlington, which had earned him two titles.
The singer also raised concerns over financial aspects of the event, including a demand for what he described as his share of streaming proceeds.
