Glasgow welterweight Ronnie Nailen faces five years behind bars after refusing to give evidence against a notorious crime clan.
Nailen, 23, says death threats were made against him by the Smith family after he was called to testify in a murder trial. Nailen was too terrified to speak out and thug Gary Smith, 26, was cleared of murdering 19-year-old David Ferguson, of Bellshill, Lanarkshire, in October 1999.
Ferguson's body was found with multiple stab wounds in a lane.
Last week, Nailen, who was a close friend of the victim, admitted giving false evidence at the murder trial and will be sentenced on July 2. He could face up to five years in prison.
A friend of Nailen's said: 'A fighter like Ronnie can look after himself but he was terrified of what the Smiths would do to him if he appeared in court. Given the choice, he would rather do five years in prison.'
He was with Ferguson, a panel beater, the night he died and had told police he recognised the voice of a masked attacker as Smith's.
But at Smith's murder trial in July 2002 at the High Court in Glasgow, he claimed he couldn't identify the voice.
The prosecution dropped the murder charge because of his 'change of mind'. Nailen was later charged with perverting the course of justice.
