The president of New Zealand’s Boxing Coaches Association has called out an unsanctioned fighting event where 32 amateurs box each other in a bid to win $50,000.
“King Of The Streets” has been endorsed and promoted by professional MMA artists Dan Hooker and Israel Adesanya.
“Bring the family, bring the whanau, bring everyone, come watch, you’ll get knocked out or knock someone the f*** out,” Adesanya said.
The face behind the tournament is known to be to disgraced gambling social media influencer known as “The Doctor” and an online gambling site he works with “, Gamdom”.
“The Doctor” is known to illegally promote gambling sites to young people with the help of VPNs and cryptocurrency, luring them in through his affiliate links so he can profit off their losses.
This time around, the influencer is encouraging their followers to get hurt for personal gain, all in a ploy to get views on content with their name in it.
The event is being promoted as having no professionals and no weight limits, with entries taking part in 60-second “scraps.”
President of the NZ Boxing Coaches Association, Billy Meehan, said the event is a street scrap and should not be classified as boxing.
“The rules are a lot different, for starters, we don’t do one-minute rounds. You’re saying to the guy in the corner get out and start smashing the other guy as best you can. Boxing is an art form; it’s a sport, and this is straight-out thuggery.”
“What you’ve got there is just thugs getting in there and going out, and they’re just like absolutely smashing each other, and we’re going to see somebody get seriously hurt, if not killed,” he added.
There have been calls for the Government and sporting bodies to intervene due to the “barbaric nature” and that for it to be legitimate, it has to be sanctioned by a sanctioning body.
“King Of The Streets” draws heavy comparisons to the trends of “influencer fight nights”, which have become increasingly popular on social media.
“There’s a lot of it starting to happen. Other ones that I know are involved, it’s quick buck for them. We’ve got one setting up at the moment, it’s called Semi-pro. There’s no such thing,” said Meehan.
Photo Credit: Lord Of Blackjack
