British boxer forced to pull out of fight after security use TEAR GAS on fans

A British boxer was forced to pull out of his fight in Nigeria on Friday night after security used TEAR GAS on fans. Joe Laws had been due to face Ghana's Elvis Ahorga in Lagos, but the bout was cancelled after chaos ensued. Fans without tickets had attempted to force their way into the arena to watch the event which was headlined by a fight between two influencers, Portable and Carter Efe. Security used tear gas in order to get control of the situation and it spread around the venue. At the time, Laws was warming up away from the ring while Basit Adebayo was facing Loren Japhet on the undercard. The gas affected Laws' eyesight, as he explained in a Facebook post on Saturday morning. "Came as a honey badger left with sore eyes," the 31-year-old wrote. "Video posting today explaining." Laws labelled Ahorga and his team 'clowns' and said that he was: "Foaming." FOLLOW OUR FIGHTING FB PAGE! Latest boxing and MMA news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page DAZN cameras showed the moment when the referee of Adebayo and Japhet's bout stopped the contest and told both fighters to cover their faces to avoid the gas. The commentator said: "It does look like we're going to have to take a break for people to get themselves back." His DAZN colleague then added: "So we've had confirmation that apparently there is some tear gas in the air." Footage of the incident quickly went viral on social media. Women's heavyweight world champion Claressa Shields was among those to react, posting: "Wow this is pretty insane." Another said on X: "This is really unfortunate. Hope all fighters, officials, and fans are safe." A third wrote: "What a fiasco." Despite Laws and Ahorga's bout not going ahead, the boxing did eventually resume later in the night. Carter Efe beat Portable - a rapper by trade - following a unanimous decision. All three of the judges scored the fight 30-27 in favour of comedian Carter Efe. Laws, who hails from Benwell, Newcastle, has been involved in 19 professional fights since he made his debut in 2018. His record stands at 15 wins and four losses. In October 2024, Laws tragically lost his older brother, Jason, after he was killed alongside seven-year-old Archie York in an explosion which destroyed several homes in Benwell. Joe recalled during a subsequent interview with ITV Tyne Tees : "Every fight he would always just turn up - out of the blue. "I love him to bits and he'll be a great miss. And it's true - life isn't fair sometimes. What can I do? Sit in the corner and cry? What's that going to solve? I've got kids that look up to me - I've got fantastic friends and fantastic family so the show will go on. The show must go on. I've got to stay strong and finish the mission I started years ago."