The chairman of the British Boxing board should be sacked for granting former English cricket captain Andrew Flintoff a professional licence to fight, claims a high-profile promoter.
Frank Maloney said 34-year-old Flintoff's maiden bout on November 30 is an insult to the sport.
"Giving Flintoff a professional licence with no experience of boxing is a joke. It gives our sport a bad name," Maloney told reporters.
The promoter of British heavyweight champion David Price said Flintoff's foray into the world of pro heavyweight fighting is reminiscent of countryman and Olympic rower James Cracknell who was knocked out seconds after he stepped into the ring for the first time.
"They haven't named an opponent for Flintoff yet but even if they find some guy who's lost his first four pro fights, he will still be in against someone with amateur experience," Maloney said.
"It will be a terrible shock when he gets hit on the chin by a heavyweight.
"It is a disgrace (the board) have given Flintoff a licence. I told the chairman, Charles Giles, that he should be sacked for approving this scandal."
Trained by Barry McGuigan, who became world featherweight champion in 1985, Flintoff will step into the ring at Manchester for the climax of a TV reality show, The Gloves Are Off, which has documented the former cricketer's preparations to fight.
