Fijian boxing star Winston Hill (with belt)

Fijian boxing star Winston Hill has denied rumors that needles and methamphetamine were found in the locker room areas during the South Pacific Boxing Promotion event in Nadi last Saturday.

There was speculation that needles were seen outside the locker room of Rungi Zhou, who fought Ubayd Haider in a match that saw Haider collapse and be hospitalized.

In an interview with FBC Sports, Hill says this is all baseless speculation.

“There has been speculation about needles being found in the changing rooms, that is speculation and it is false. In my locker room and in all the locker rooms I went to that night, there were no pins to be found. These are easily just rumors and fake news that have been spread.”

Hill praised Zhou as a disciplined and high-performance athlete.

“I met Zhou; he is a great boxer. It wasn’t a surprise what he did during the fight, that’s exactly how he trains, I saw him training with Mikaele Răvalacă a few weeks before the fight.”

He also expressed sympathy for Haider, noting: “What happened to Ubayd was unfortunate and I hope he recovers soon.”