Combat sport bosses issue knockout warning after underworld attacks, including a gym assassination
Boxing and mixed martial arts fighters who commit or have links to crime have been warned by those who oversee the sports in NSW: We’re coming to knock you out of action.
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Boxing and mixed martial arts fighters involved in crime have been issued a warning by those overseeing the sports in New South Wales: We’re coming to knock you out of action.
The NSW Combat Sports Authority has given The Daily Telegraph a rare interview about their efforts to stamp out troublemakers linked to the sports, following a number of high-profile violent incidents at fighting gyms and events in recent years.
In February 2024, there was an alleged attempted murder outside the Australian Top Team fighting gym in Wentworthville, in March 2023 the killing of Taha Sabbagh at Elite Fight Force gym in Sefton, and in January 2021 the assassination of innocent man Mostafa Naaman at a boxing fight in Hurstville.
The CSA currently has four prohibition orders against those involved in the fight scene as trainers, competitors or promoters – including the owner of Elite Fight Force gym, Hany Sbat, who police intelligence suggests may have been the real target of the shooting that claimed the life of Mr Sabbagh.
CSA chairman Darren Kane said they worked closely with NSW Police in determining who to prohibit from not only fighting, but training competitors.
“The CSA works... to ensure all registered participants are of good character and that the risks to combatants and the integrity of the industry are minimised,” Mr Kane said.
“The orders include banning the individuals from attending combat sport contests or weigh ins and participating in the training of combatants.
“The CSA’s efforts in partnership with law enforcement agencies to regulate the NSW combat sports industry, minimises harm to combatants and ensures the integrity of combat sport contests.”
Alongside Mr Sbat, there are currently three other men prohibited from being involved in combat sports in NSW.
They include Jared Treloar, a former bikie, Adam Abdallah, an amateur boxer who went viral for breaking the jaw of a referee at a soccer game and will next month be sentenced over the attack, and Hassan Hamdan, who was found guilty but not convicted after assaulting a boxing judge by throwing a water bottle at them.
NSW Police have long had a seat on the authority, with that job currently falling to Organised Crime Squad boss Peter Faux.
Detective Superintendent Faux said the role of police was to identify individuals who were not wanted in the combat sports scene and make sure they did not “exploit the industry”.
“The Commissioner of Police has a seat on the Combat Sports Authority and that’s delegated to me, and the role of police is to provide insight and expertise into those that may be involved in the industry,” he said.
“So as the Police Commissioner’s representative, I can identify people in the industry who may not be fit and proper people.
“Whether it’s people involved in OMCGs (outlaw motorcycle gangs), organised crime or whatever it may be, you want to make sure that those people don’t exploit the industry or infiltrate the industry.”
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