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LEEDS WITH A HOOK
Shocking moment huge brawl erupts at Elland Road boxing match as chairs are thrown and a woman is knocked out
Fans hurled insults at each other as the brawl rocketed out of control
CHAIRS were hurled through the air and a woman was even knocked out in a mass, violent brawl after a boxing match in Leeds last night.
The chaos unfolded at Leeds United’s Elland Road ground on Saturday night when dozens of spectators turned on each other at a boxing event, hurling insults and objects across the stadium’s Centenary Pavilion.
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One witness told The Sun Online that he was stunned when a woman punched a man before being knocked out herself, saying: "It was just going crazy.
"Everybody was shouting, the lady in the blue dress was unconscious for at least 10 seconds.
"Everyone was just fighting."
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Fans had been watching the match between Joe Dempsey and Ciaran Keenoy on Saturday night when "all hell broke loose" about 10.20pm.
He alleged that the fights first broke out when a coach pushed one of the competing boxers, Joe Dempsey, sparking fury from the fans.
"Joe's fans started shouting... it was the fans going crazy."
Filming part of the brawl, he said he couldn't believe his eyes with fights breaking out in every corner of the room.
He said: "Plastic cups went flying then it was chairs - every man and his dog was fighting."
Describing the scene, he said: "(There were) drunk people, with blood everywhere and police and ambulances everywhere."
Footage taken at the Centenary Pavilion showed fans screaming at each other, with one woman in a blue dress knocked out and a man even picking up a table and trying to throw it across the room.
The terrified witness said that the fight broke out about 10.20pm on Saturday night, with a number of people involved already intoxicated from the night out.
Security desperately tried to control the fighting, with one person heard to be screaming "calm the f*** down" as groups traded blows across the football club's conference centre.
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A man could be heard pleading to the brawling crowds, yelling: "We are here for boxing tonight and some of you have just ruined it.
"It has been spoilt by your guys. We cannot continue like this... you are behaving like children. You are spoiling it for any other boxing event here in Leeds."
He said that the fight only lasted about eight to ten minutes, with police quickly arriving at the event.
Around 700 tickets had been sold to the fight, with those involved in the brawls spilling out of the venue, with many nursing cuts to their heads.
The 25-year-old Leeds local said that about 25 police cars rushed to the scene, with another half a dozen ambulance crews also arriving to treat those injured in the brawl.
He said: "We all got dispersed onto the road and the people who tried to keep fighting were getting arrested."
Due to the brawls, the main fight between Mickey Bourne and Mark Holmes, did not go ahead.
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A statement released by Leeds United said: "We are disgusted by the violent scenes witnessed at the Pavillion last night during a white collar boxing event caused by a small group of individuals.
"We pride ourselves on successfully hosting major conferences and events within the venue and do not condone the actions of these individuals.
"Event staff from Elland Road had been in contact with the relevant authorities prior to the organised boxing event taking place and we provided more than the required level of trained security personnel on site for such an event.
"We will continue to work closely with West Yorkshire Police to help to identify those individuals involved in the incident."
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Police were called at 22:27 on Saturday 18 February to large scale disorder at Elland Road football ground in Leeds.
"Around 40 people were involved in the disorder at an organised boxing event at the stadium.
"Officers attended and the crowd dispersed."
Roger Tuby wrote a comment on the video: "As event organisers of Leeds Valentines Funfair at Elland Road, Leeds. This incident at the boxing event had nothing whatsoever to do with any showman or staff at the Elland Road funfair."
Police said three people suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital.
Enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances of the incident.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Leeds CID via 101 quoting log number 1843 of 18/2.
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