Ugandan super-heavyweight boxer Aziz Abdul was disqualified from his Commonwealth Games bout in Glasgow on Wednesday after appearing to headbutt his English opponent, Damar Thomas, in the third round.
Abdul, 25, lifted his head into Thomas' chin as the two grappled. He had already received warnings in each of the previous two rounds and was trailing on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the disqualification, BBC Sport reported.
After the bout, Abdul disputed the decision and suggested bias played a role. "I am black African. He is in homeland," he said. He also claimed Thomas had fouled him without penalty. "When you watch the previous fights of England their boxers create a lot of fouls," Abdul said. "I land a heavy punch on him, they never count. Instead of counting they deduct me."
He also addressed the headbutt directly. "It was not intentional. I was trying to come back," he said. "How can I headbutt someone? I would not." He added: "He elbowed me. He caught me with the elbow."
Abdul had spoken to the BBC before the fight about wanting to become the new "King of Scotland," a reference to his grandfather Idi Amin, who declared himself that title in 1976. Amin took power in Uganda in a coup in 1971 and ran a regime during which an estimated half a million people were killed. He was also known as the Butcher of Uganda.
Amin served in the King's African Rifles in his 20s and developed a fascination with Scotland. He was known for wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes. Those details later inspired the Oscar-winning film The Last King of Scotland, starring Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy.
Abdul never met his grandfather. In a previous BBC interview, he said he was "inspired" by Amin, though he did not clarify whether he meant Amin's boxing career or his broader legacy. When asked directly if he was proud to be the dictator's grandson, Abdul did not answer.
The disqualification ended Abdul's chance at making history. A win over Thomas would have guaranteed Uganda its first Commonwealth boxing medal since Auckland in 1990.
Thomas, now guaranteed at least a bronze medal, was measured in his response. "I can't change what happened today but I can control how I box on Friday," he said. He acknowledged the ending was not ideal. "Not the way" he wanted to win, he said.
BBC Sport said it contacted Commonwealth Games organizers and World Boxing for a response to Abdul's comments. No response had been reported at time of publication.
