Bare Knuckle Boxing

by Joe Calvey

John L. Sullivan it ain't but it ain't all bad once you get past the fact that after two events they are already crowning World Champions.

Direct TV decided to compete head on with HBO and SHOWTIME in boxing. Well, sort of. Established in 1990 the El Segundo, California company is now offering a hybrid combat sport called Bare Knuckle Boxing aka BKB. Fighters square off in a small circular pit with no ropes. Rounds are two minutes long, gloves are 10 ounces and have the padding over the knuckles removed. The knuckles themselves are exposed by four small oblong holes measuring about 1 inch by a half inch.

The first BKB event took place last July and very few boxing fans took notice. The second event took place Wednesday Dec. 3, 2013 in New Hampshire. Despite the event having the likes of Michael "Let’s Get Ready to Rumble" Buffer and top drawer trainer Robert Garcia participating with a group from his stable of fighters few boxing fans knew or even cared it was taking place.

More importantly there were no official results published where fight fans could freely review the outcomes. 

So where are the official results? According to New Hampshire State Boxing Commissioner Bobby Stephen "we submitted them to Fight Fax Inc. in Philadelphia but there was a problem in the acceptance of them". At Fight Fax, Inc. the spokesman, "Kani" had no knowledge of any problems and insisted they had all of the information and it was available for a price. "Everybody knows me, this is my 30th year in business, why should the media get the information free, state commissions either pay for it or make the promoters pay for it?" he said.

This of course leads to the problem of a boxer being medically suspended after either a TKO or KO by New Hampshire but no other state having the information available unless they or a third party pays Fight Fax for the data which of course is public information.

The commissioner agreed "the information needs to be out there". This is the information that protects a boxer from further potential brain injury as he can be exploited by an unscrupulous promoter or manager if not given enough time to heal. Winning fighters are routinely suspended for their own good. New Hampshire needs to post it’s results and suspensions on it’s own web site for public consumption. The problem of phantom boxers still exists.

6 days after the BKB event there was no information on Boxrec.com regarding the outcomes of the bouts or medical suspensions of the participants. This is due to the fact that New Hampshire’s legislature doesn’t require the commission to do so. The Association of Boxing Commissions has since at least 2004 advised it’s members which includes New Hampshire to submit it’s results to all three boxing clearinghouses.

Commissioner Stephen insisted New Hampshire was not a party to concealing the outcome of the bouts and stated he believes the information regarding the results is the right of the public to know. He went on to say "but I understands the desire of Direct TV to not want them to be broadcast prior to their pay per view event."

He characterized the event as successful which generally means the state got it’s cut, there were no post fight medical issues and the customers went home happy as can be expected. He also mentioned it is the job of the commission to "protect the consumer and of course, the safety of the fighter".

If Bare Knuckle Boxing is to be taken seriously then all of the clearing houses including The International Brotherhood of Prize Fighters must have free access to the information directly from the state along with the public. To favor one company over the other is possibly a federal anti-trust matter. To withhold, hinder or purposefully delay public information for the benefit of a corporation or individual is highly unethical and a violation of the Freedom of Information Act.

With all due respect to New Hampshire there does not seem to be any reason why it was chosen over dozens of combat sport hotbeds except it’s exclusive use of Fight Fax and not publishing it’s result online. Lower costs there cannot be too big of a consideration for Direct TV’s deep pockets but the $19.95 price tag does seem like a short arm effort to cover the costs of programming.

The local newspaper in the frosty woods of Manchester, New Hampshire, The Union Leader, had a prominent banner displayed at the weigh in but did not cover or report on the event according to it’s sports desk editor, Vin Sylvia. Sylvia stated they give coverage "only when a fighter of local interest at a MMA event is involved". That Direct TV didn’t blow the budget on the media luncheon is a certainty.

Tweets following the event by trainer Robert Garcia that Maniaco 2nd Rd KO, Gordo won 2nd Rd KO, Eddie 5th Rd KO, Pelos 2nd round TKO was the only information found online.

Commissioner Stephen suspended the regular rule allowing the use of a ringside nurse practitioner or a doctor for a combat event. In order for BKB to take place there would be two doctors present. One ringside and a second doctor in the fighter bullpen area. This was certainly keeping in step with his desire to protect the fighters but he will need to do more to protect the taxpayer’s right to know what happened at an event overseen by state officials. As always an ambulance crew was on hand.

Commissioner Stephen also stated that the minimum of $20,000 medical liability insurance policy the promoter must provide each fighter may be too low after learning that the Texas minimum is $50,000 and he decided "to place the matter in front of the commission at it’s next meeting".

There was no national clearing house back in 1983 when 8 boxers died. ''We need to have a central clearing house that will provide us with more comprehensive information" then New York State Athletic Commissioner John Branca told the New York Times following the death of boxer Gino Perez after a bout at Madison Square Garden.

Fighters welcome virtually any opportunity to earn a paycheck. They work jobs around their training schedule and sacrifice regular careers to enter the ring. The long term cost to them can be catastrophic. So it would be highly irresponsible of Direct TV to in anyway cause the outcomes of bouts to be delayed for it’s own marketing purposes. One participant said they pay well but that is relative. Equipment, training fees and living expenses eat up what most make quicker than BoxRec.com can email their medical suspensions to anyone - free of charge - unless they fought in New Hampshire.

Since only New Hampshire currently hosts BKB they need to do everything in the interest of the boxer’s safety within their power. They hosted the first event in July 2013 and except on YouTube there is a lack of information on the Internet readily available. After just two events Direct TV is already crowning World Champions which means there is more to come.

New Hampshire was the first state to declare it’s independence from England a full six months before the Declaration of Independence. No one is going to tell them how to run their boxing commission. Commissioner Stephen calls himself "an old boxing guy" and seems sincerely interested in the safety of the boxers. "We are learning as we go," he said. "The fighters 10 ounce gloves and fight in a pit instead of a ring, two minute rounds, one minute rest periods". The commissioner explained the 8 count as "once a boxer is knocked down the 8 count is mandatory here unlike elsewhere".

Are the participants contracted to keep quiet about the results? No. But Direct TV must not have confidence in their ability to conduct a live PPV event otherwise why the semi-secrecy? Was it a good idea to offer a tape delayed pay per view event featuring a slate of unknown fighters the same night HBO offered up two legitimate, live world championship fights and SHOWTIME fielded a similar number of compelling fights with real star power? Both were free to their subscribers and results were available on BoxRec.com promptly.

The illustration in this article was not from a Direct TV event.