Bare knuckle boxing group breaks silence over Perth fight rejection

The organisation behind the push to bring the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship to Perth has accused the Combat Sports Commission of blindsiding it after it rejected the event application earlier this month.

On June 5, the commission rejected an application by Knuckle Up Australia on behalf of BKFC to stage Australia’s first-ever bare knuckle boxing event on July 19 at RAC Arena over concerns it “had not met the required criteria.”

Bare knuckle boxing organisers have broken their silence.Credit: Greg Beacham

Knuckle Up Australia released a statement on Monday afternoon saying the decision had blindsided them and that the commission had been vague in the reasons for its rejection.

“We were blindsided by the outcome, given the 15 months of work between our team and the Commission to establish the sport’s rule set and secure recognition as a sanctioned body,” event organiser Suanne Giles said.

The statement said the commission had rejected the event because of medical advice that suggested the likelihood of facial and hand injuries was higher than in gloved boxing and had raised concerns that fighters on the card did not have the right level of experience in the sport.

“We provided medical data and international precedent that addressed the concerns; however, the commission maintains reservations regarding injury risk and raised issues with a bout card that was not finalised and assessed in part 2 of the permit, which was due 21 days before the contest,” Knuckle Up said.

“While our submissions and discussions addressed the commission’s concerns...we are now seeking clarity on what it vaguely referred to as ‘amongst other things’.

“We are seeking clarification on the ruling and will evaluate whether to appeal or modify the proposal.”

Knuckle Up also said the commission did not provide details on why the event was rejected until June 18, leaving organisers with no option but to scrap it.

The commission was approached for comment.