Boxer Billy Corito peeved off at revocation of MBA licence by WhatsApp

One of Malta’s most famous professional boxers, Billy ‘the hitman’ Corito, has had his Malta Boxing Association (MBA) license revoked, ahead of a fight to be held on 22 September.

Corito and his agent Stephen Green said in a statement that MBA president Michael Bonello had given Corito the news through a simple WhatsApp message.

“It does seem highly unprofessional, even possibly unethical, to inform Malta’s best known boxer via WhatsApp of the decision,” Green said in the statement.

According to the WhatsApp message sent by Green, Bonello was said to have told Corito: “Hi Billy, I know you are boxing. As you know you will be losing your MBA license. I am sorry I will not back you up this time”. Billy Corito’s response was a simple “OK thanks”.

Corito said he immediately contacted Charlie Cardona of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) and Gianluca Di Caro from the British & Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA) to ascertain if either would be willing to license him, or as in the case of MBC, relicense him, both of whom agreed.

Corito, who was previously licensed by the MBC for a number of years, was last year forced by the MBA to forgo his MBC license so that the association could license him to fight on an event sanctioned by themselves.

“I was shocked at Michael’s message,” Corito said. “It makes no sense, I am the face of Maltese boxing, everyone knows me. The MBA wanted me to fight on their shows, so I did, but now they don’t want me to fight on MBC shows, which is childish.

“I don’t like politics, I’m a boxer, I want to fight, I want to fight not just in Malta, I want to put Malta on the boxing map. When I was with the MBC before I got to fight in England. But with MBA my only option is to fight here in Malta only, so really I am not worried, more angry about the way they did it.”