Controversial Muslim cleric Sheik al-Hilali has pledged to boycott boxer Danny Green’s bout against Antonio Carver this Wednesday night after Green referred to the American as “a piece of meat I’ll chop up.”
Al-Hilali is most known in Australia for his controversial sermon in 2006 in which he said that men were inherently tempted by immodestly-dressed women, referring to such ladies as “uncovered meat.”
But it now appears the uncovered meat reference extended not just to women – but any type of meat-product on public display.
“I was initially really excited about the fight, but I wasn’t aware that there would be any edible meat inside the ring,” he said.
“I better not turn up, it might be too tempting to ravage Carver’s bleeding carcass. You know how us blokes get around uncovered meat!” he added.
The cleric has offered his ring-side ticket to celebrity vegan and former Australian Idol host Andrew ‘G’ Ginsberg.
Meanwhile, vegetarian crusaders have taken Green’s playful pre-bout jibe literally, with hundreds flooding to online-auction website eBay to pawn their tickets. The stray comment could potentially cost organisers thousands of dollars in revenue.
“I came to see a clean fight, not an act of barbarity,” said Harmony McArthur, a vegetarian of nearly seven years.
“Whatever happened to clean, vegetarian-friendly pre-bout banter?”
Green later apologised for his comment, requesting to have it put on the record that he would “slice Carver up like a chunk of tofu.”
By Dave Edwards