23-05-2025
EXCLUSIVE Former boxing world champion Hannah Rankin apologises to backers for 'bad financial decisions' leading to debts... Scot also reveals she's called in the police due to 'blackmail' threats
Hannah Rankin's career is in crisis over 'bad financial decisions' - with the former boxing world champion revealing she has also called in the police following 'blackmail' threats.
The 34-year-old - who became the first female Scot to win the WBA and IBA Super-Featherweight world titles - has admitted to Mail Sport that she had made some poor choices in terms of finance, leading to her owing substantial sums of money to a number of investors.
However, Rankin also insisted that she had been 'subject to an ongoing campaign of harassment, threats and blackmail' and that it was now a police matter.
The fighter - who has voluntarily relinquished her boxing license - has recently moved into the world of bare knuckle fighting and saw her first match in this discipline take place in October last year.
Rankin told Mail Sport: 'I have been subject to an ongoing campaign of harassment, threats and blackmail for quite some time now and this is an ongoing police investigation
'Because of this, some bad financial decisions have been made. To those it has affected, I apologise. To those that are legitimately owed money, this will all be paid back in full.
'I will not be making any further comment on this, or anything linked to this due to the ongoing investigation.
'For those that are aware of what is going on, I thank you for your continued support and, for those that have reached out, again it means the world and I thank you.'
Rankin has recently been recuperating from her bout against Jessica Borga in the BKFC in Dubai, after being KO'd in just 32 seconds.
The match was supposed to be a day of reckoning for the Scot, who won her previous bare-knuckle fight against German Deborah Melhorn.
Mail Sport has spoken with multiple sources - none of whom said they had been contacted by the police - who claim she has failed to honour financial commitments.
Tom Varley, CEO of Fight Africa, claimed to Mail Sport that he lent Rankin more than £30,000 after befriending the fighter and her manager Noel Callan.
He further claimed that their contract stipulated the money be repaid within 15 days, but Varley insists he has only received £4,000 of the money owed. He also said he had not been contacted regarding any police investigation.
'I had two contracts with Hannah and Noel,' he said. 'One was for £16,900, plus 10 per cent of her first BKFC purse. They said this was $150,000 including bonus.
'When the payment date came up, however, they came in with the excuse of frozen bank accounts.
'I then went to see them in Marbella and, as they were friends, I trusted them and rolled the contract - investing a further £11,000, after being told they were earning $200,000 for their title fight with Borga.
'The new contract was for £30,000 plus 15 per cent of their world title fight purse. The payment date for this was 15 business days after the fight. This hasn't come around yet.'
When Mail Sport put Varley's claims to Rankin, she said she had 'nothing further to add' and referred back to her original statement.
Investing in athletes such as Rankin is not an uncommon practice in the world of boxing and BKFC. Fighters will often get help for camps, training, accommodation and living costs - with loans repaid once fights have been completed.
In Rankin's case, however, it is claimed that multiple debts remain outstanding.
Meanwhile, Team Rankin Ltd - the company under which Rankin and Callan trade - has been hit with a suspended compulsory strike-off notice by Companies House after an objection to a strike-off was received by the Registrar.
Suspensions can happen if creditors object to a strike-off, if there's an ongoing or legal claim against the company, if taxes or VAT are still outstanding, or if the company haven't complied with statutory requirements.
