It was business as usual for Amy Greatorex as she headed to Harrow Leisure Centre for Platinum Punch Promotions first show, the Brother in Arms. Added on short notice to appear as a B-side opponent, Greatorex was happy at the prospect of her fourth outing in 2023, and fifth since her professional debut in December last year.
Greatorex (0-4) arrived at the venue, with six, two minute rounds scheduled against Sangeeta Birdi (3-4), the WBC Indian Champion.
The bout proved to be far from ordinary though, and Greatorex’s performance wasn’t the only surprise of the night. Throughout the course of the bout, Greatorex said that Platinum Punch Promotions Co-Owners Prince Patel and Tony Bange had positioned themselves behind her cornermen, and were proving a distracting presence. Patel and Bange were loudly supporting their competitor Birdi, but so much so that it was impacted the work of Greatorex’s corner, and this even continued throughout the break in rounds.
When the bout concluded, scoring referee Chris Jones gave the bout 60-55 in favour of Amy Greatorex, the away fighter. This was Greatorex’s first professional victory, who in turn had defeated Sangeeta Birdi on her UK re-debut following a spell in India.
The reaction from Platinum Punch Promotions was far from professional. During Greatorex’s photo opportunity at the end of the bout, Prince Patel is alleged to have been banging loudly on the ring canvas, shouting to “get her out of his ring”. A photographer is also alleged to have been dragged off from the ring apron.
Having left the ring, further problems occurred while Amy Greatorex was waiting to be interviewed. The interview was interrupted by Tony Bange storming into the room, and said he did not want Greatorex to be interviewed. Bange went on to shout “You robbed us” at Greatorex for defeating Birdi.
The final indignity came when videos of the bout were released. Platinum Punch Promotions notably uploaded 7 of their 8 bouts from the Brother in Arms show, with Birdi vs Greatorex absent. Greatorex request for a copy the footage has been denied, despite being filmed by the promoters for what they expected to be Sangeeta Birdi’s first British victory.
Amy Greatorex is yet to receive any apology from the promoters of Platinum Punch Promotions. She has been unable to obtain footage of her fight despite it being filmed, and left to purchase photos of her own bout herself. She returned to action on 21 October 2023 on a Stefy Bull show, losing to Ellie Hellewell by TKO in round 3.
Prince Patel was interviewed by Boxing News for a feature published on 18 September 2023. The feature included the following from Prince Patel himself “If there’s a way I can help somebody, I will”.
And while it makes good reading to say something about helping people, it says even more when you demonstrate the complete opposite behaviour just weeks later.
Boxingcontent.com reached out to Prince Patel and Tony Bange regarding the allegations. Prince Patel did not respond, and Tony Bange chose not to comment.
Photography copyrighted to Philip Sharkey