One of the two brothers at the center of the Jussie Smollett scandal headed into the ring for a boxing match in Chicago Thursday night.
The Osundairo brothers have told police that Smollett paid them to help to stage his attack back in January.
Abel Osundairo, 27, arrived at the bout dressed in a robe with the American flag and knocked out his opponent in round one.
His performance in the ring calls into question how Smollet managed to defend himself and fight off his alleged attackers and escape with just the faintest of scratches.
Abel Osundairo competing in a Golden Gloves boxing match.
Ola is here supporting his brother.
Jussie Smollett is accused of hiring the brothers to stage a homophobic/racist attack.
“We can’t talk about that right now,” is what Ola said to me when I asked. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/TRxUjoeXkN
— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) March 22, 2019
Police say Smollett’s facial injuries were not from the siblings but were instead allegedly self-inflicted.
“He’s got a right hand that puts most guys down,’ said Sam Colonna, Chicago Golden Gloves Board Member of Abel Osundairo to ABC7 Chicago.
“He’s moves, kind of like an Ali type, kind of jabs and moves around very well.”
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The Osundairo brothers were Smollet’s personal trainers at one point and the pair were allegedly caught on surveillance video buying materials police say were used in the alleged staged attack on Smollett.
Smollett faces 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report.
He claims he was the victim of a vicious hate crime in the Streeterville neighborhood back in January, but police say it was a hoax and that Smollett hired the Osundairo brothers to carry out the fake attack. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Abel would not speak to the media either before or after the fight and simply said ‘Thank you for coming.’
The brothers confessed to police on February 20 that Smollett hired them to beat him up and told them to make it appear as though it was a racist and homophobic attack on January 29.
On national television Smollett said he put up a fight against his so-called attackers and walked away with only a couple scratches.
The brothers, meanwhile, fled to Nigeria and were out of the country while Smollett performed to sold-out shows and arranged interviews with national media.
The brothers were picked up by police on February 20 as they arrived back in Chicago.
