Snooker Stars Banned for Combined 17 Years Fought in Boxing Grudge Match
Two snooker players who later attracted lengthy bans from the sport once took to the boxing ring in an attempt to settle their differences.
Snooker has historically clamped down heavily on offences relating to betting and match-fixing.
Reigning world champion Zhao Xintong served a ban for his part in the biggest scandal in snooker's history, while there have also been bans for Yan Bingtao, Stephen Lee and four-time world champion John Higgins as a result of investigations into breaches over the years.
The latest player added to the blacklist was England's Mark King, the former Northern Ireland Open champion, who was found guilty of match-fixing last year.
Advert
Long before his ban, King crossed paths with one of snooker's more divisive personalities and the pair resorted to physical violence after a fellow player was shockingly bald-shamed by King's bitter rival.
"In 2004, Quinten Hann and Mark King took to a boxing ring at London's famous York Hall to settle their aggro," reported The Sun.
Hann saw the need to challenge Andy Hicks to a boxing match, teasing him into accepting by calling him 'short and bald'.
King, also bald, found the challenge irresistible and stepped in for the opportunity to punch Hann in the face.
After a six-minute scrap it was Australian pool and snooker pro Hann who triumphed on points and was presented with the winner's belt by snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan.
At the time of the 'Pot Whack' fight, Hann was in between two acquittals after rape accusations.
The second case concluded in 2005 and was immediately followed by accusations by The Sun newspaper that Hann had agreed to lose a match in a sting that year.
Hann was banned for 12 years.
King is now serving a ban of his own. He was thrown out of the sport for five years last November having been found guilty of match-fixing and providing inside information relating to one of his matches.
Mark King's sanctions in full
Wearsider King was initially suspended by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in 2023.
He lost an appeal in May 2025 and his five-year ban, backdated to the start of his suspension, was ratified.
The 51-year-old was also ordered to pay more than £113,000 in costs but charges relating to a second match, against John Higgins, were dismissed.
Chris Nee