Portable points to gambling as reason for loss to Carter Efe

Street hip-hop singer, Habeeb ‘Portable’ Badmus claims his loss against Carter Efe at the Chaos in the Ring 4 event in Lagos was contrived to avoid organisers from paying out billions of naira wagered on his triumph, saying he was stopped prematurely when he might have continued.

“It was cheating. They couldn’t pay the money, so they rigged it. We are the ones who won, so they ripped me. They couldn’t pay the N23 billion that people bet on me. If Portable wins, they can never pay the money,” the ZaZoo crooner said.

He further claimed that the stoppage was unjustified, comparing his condition during the bout to his previous celebrity fights.

“They should have let us keep fighting. They said I was panting — I did the same against Charles Okocha. All they should have done was pour water on me so I could go and beat him, but they said the fight was over,” he said.

Portable lost a unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 27-30 in favour of Efe after three rounds. The defeat ended his era as celebrity boxing champion, having previously defeated Charles Okocha and Speed Darlington to win two titles.

His objections went beyond finances, with the singer demanding what he described as streaming revenue from the event.