Down for the count: Amateur boxing chief causes uproar by saying all female fighters are either child abuse victims or gay

American amateur boxing has been flung into turmoil after the former chief of the sport said all female fighters had to be either child abuse victims or gay. In an interview with The New Yorker magazine over the summer, Hal Adonis, then president of Boxing USA, declared that being abused in early life provides the perfect foundations for a successful boxing career. During the rant, he made a series of extraordinary claims about women's amateur boxing, including the words: 'Half of our girls have been molested, half of our girls are gay.' He also told the magazine: 'When kids call me up, I say: "Let me ask you an honest question: have your parents ever hit you?" If they say no, I say: "I don't think you belong in boxing."' The comments sent shockwaves around the American boxing community forcing the International Boxing Association (AIBA) to step in to demand his immediate dismissal. Read more