Belfast boxer opens up about being put in straitjacket and handcuffs by US police after bout

Sean McComb (green trunks) exchanges blows with Arnold Barboza Jr.

Jessica Rice

Boxer Sean McComb has revealed he was placed in handcuffs and a straitjacket a day after his controversial loss to Arnold Barboza Jr at Madison Square Garden last month.

McComb appeared on the latest episode of comedian Shane Todd's 'Tea with me' podcast to speak about the fight and its dramatic aftermath.

The west Belfast boxer faced off against American Barboza Jr, on the undercard of the Ryan Garcia v Devin Haney bout on April 20.

Many boxing fans felt McComb had done enough to win, but the judges opted to give the decision to Barboza Jr, who moved to 30-0.

Writing in his weekly Sunday Life column, former world champion Carl Frampton assessed the fight saying: “I scored it 8-2 in favour of Sean, maybe 7-3 at a push if I was being overly kind to Barboza, but there is no way any other card could have been turned in…

"They are supposed to be watching the same fight, so is this either incompetence or do some judges have the outcome in mind before the opening bell?”

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Speaking on the podcast, the boxer told Todd he didn't have too much time to wallow in defeat, as just one day later he found himself in handcuffs and a straitjacket after a misunderstanding with the police in America.

After having a few drinks at the airport McComb was refused entry on to his flight home.

"Walked down the wee ramp towards the plane. The air hostess was just like: 'You aren't getting on, you're intoxicated',” he recounted.

"I walked right back up the ramp and there was like f***** four police officers standing there. And he was like: 'Sit down on the floor’.

"And I was like: 'I'm not f****** sitting down on the floor’, and he just grabbed me and f***** me to the ground and stuck handcuffs on me.”

McComb was then put in handcuffs and a straitjacket.

"They put me in the back of an ambulance, put me in a straitjacket with the handcuffs on. I was looking at the guy in the back of the ambulance like: 'Mate, this is unnecessary' and he was like: 'It's just procedure’,” he said.

The 31-year-old was then taken to a hospital before eventually being released some time later.

The whole ordeal didn’t seem to phase McComb though.

"We got a taxi straight [from the hospital] down to Times Square and had another pint," he added.

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