Former world champion boxer David Haye has been cleared in an assault case with a London court ruling that not every touch was unlawful.
Nickesh Jhala had alleged that Haye grabbed him by the throat and threatened to kill him at a Paul Chowdhry comedy event at the Hammersmith Apollo in October last year.
But the charges could not be proved although CCTV footage from the live entertainment performance venue showed the boxer leaning over Jhala.
Westminster magistrates’ court heard that the confrontation took place when Jhala, his girlfriend and his cousin were sitting behind Haye and his partner during the show.
Apparently annoyed by derogatory remarks about him and his girlfriend, the former heavyweight champion got out of his seat and crossed the aisle to approach Jhala.
While giving evidence, Jhala said Haye leaned down to speak into his ear and “put his hand around my throat.”
He said he felt “threatened and was shaking” after Haye told him, “Say one more word and I’m going to kill you.”
Jhala reported the incident to the police three days after the confrontation, leading to Haye’s arrest at Heathrow after his return from a foreign trip in June this year.
Arguing on behalf of Haye, James Scobie KC said his client only “put his hand on Mr Jhala’s shoulder at most” but denied there was a threat to kill him.
Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled that Haye had no case to answer as the evidence against him was “tenuous” and “inconsistent”.
“The evidence cannot in law make us sure that the contact Mr Haye did make was anything more than getting the attention of the appellant,” Goldspring said adding, “Not every touching…is unlawful.”
As the case, initially scheduled to run for two years ended at the halfway mark, a “happy” and “pleased” Haye said he was “thankful” that the venue had CCTV without which “I would have been convicted of strangling someone.”
He said he would move on and hoped not to come back to court again.
