British boxing promoter Mr Barry Hearn denied in the Dublin High Court yesterday that he had boasted of "controlling" boxing officials by providing food, drink and prostitutes for them.
In more than 50 world title fights with which he had been involved, he had never provided a woman for an official, Mr Hearn said.
While he had fed officials and put them up in hotels, he would never have provided a woman for them, he told Mr Colm Allen SC, for former world boxing champion Steve Collins.
Mr Allen was continuing his cross-examination of Mr Hearn on the 13th day of the action taken by the promoter and his company, Matchroom Boxing Ltd, against Mr Collins, of Pine House, Navan Road, Dublin.
The London promoter is alleging Mr Collins breached a managerial contract but this is denied by the Dublin boxer.
In court yesterday, Mr Allen said Mr Collins would give evidence of hearing Mr Hearn boast of how he "controlled" boxing officials by feeding them, giving them alcohol and providing the services of prostitutes. Mr Hearn said that was nonsense. He had never delivered a woman to any official in more than the 50 world title fights with which he had been involved. He would never think of sinking so low.
Earlier, Mr Hearn agreed he was a powerful figure in British and Irish boxing during 1995. He also accepted he had a unique relationship with the WBO world boxing governing authority at the time.
Mr Allen said an outside objective expert would give evidence to the effect that Mr Hearn, in correspondence with the WBO in June 1995, was setting Mr Collins up to be stripped of his title.
Mr Hearn said that was not his intention. He said Collins was his champion and he was the boxer's manager. In those circumstances, he asked why would he want him stripped of the title.
He agreed his letters to the WBO contained serious allegations against Mr Collins in calling into doubt his finger injury. He agreed such allegations could have triggered a meeting of the WBO championship committee, but he knew Mr Collins could not have his title removed because he had submitted a medical certificate to the WBO in relation to the injury.
Asked if what he had done to Mr Collins in the correspondence was justified, Mr Hearn said it was. It was a means to an end and nobody had been hurt.
Mr Allen put it to Mr Hearn that his letters to the WBO were the record of an utterly flawed, dishonest, mendacious and ruthless individual who cared nothing for Mr Collins and that the boxer had survived despite all the witness's best efforts. Mr Hearn disagreed.
The letters to the WBO, although phrased and framed by him, were written on behalf of another boxer, Chris Eubank, Mr Hearn said. If Eubank had not made complaints to him, he would not have engaged in the correspondence.
The hearing continues today, when Mr Collins is expected to resume his direct evidence.