Daly tells of high drama as High Noon slides into oblivion

BELEAGUERED John Daly of Hemdale, the main promoter behind the doomed High Noon in Hong Kong boxing extravaganza, made one last-ditch effort to put the show back on - but it was laughed off by boxing promoters Barry Hearn and Bob Arum.

Daly had apparently found another major player in the multi-million dollar event, but everybody concerned in the fight had lost faith in him and his organisation - and had gone home.

The four-fight programme featuring World Boxing Organisation (WBO) heavyweight champion Herbie Hide was scheduled for the Hong Kong Stadium yesterday but it was cancelled dramatically on the eve of the action because the fighters' purses could not be guaranteed.

Daly claimed high-roller Bill Fischer was prepared to put US$500,000 up front to save the event - about US$271,000 short of the US$771,000 owed to boxers and managers.

But an angry Hearn, who left the territory last night, said: 'I heard nothing about this until this morning. If they had come to me with this last night [Saturday night] I would have slanged it so fast out of the door like the milk man.

'I wouldn't have believed it anyway. It's ridiculous. They had months to find a backer and they had months of promotion to get the show off the road. They failed and it's now all finished.