‘Morally repugnant’: Opposition spars with Labor in bare-knuckle boxing push

A row over a push for a bare-knuckle boxing event in WA ended in a full-blown shouting match during Question Time on Thursday as the opposition urged the government to step in and stop what it called a “morally reprehensible” sport.

The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, partially owned by former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Conor McGregor, has announced plans to bring a boxing event to RAC Arena on July 19, with the Combat Sports Commission confirming it had received a request.

The WA government has distanced itself from the planned event but former sports minister David Templeman opened the door to it in February, amending regulations to recognise BKFC as a sanctioning body.

According to BKFC rules fighters may only punch each other with unimpeded knuckles throughout five two-minute rounds.

The opposition ramped up attacks on Thursday with shadow sports minister Peter Rundle asking whether Premier Roger Cook would “show some leadership to prevent this morally repugnant event.”

Cook said it was “not his cup of tea” but that the state was not providing any financial assistance to BKFC and that he trusted the Combat Sports Commission to provide advice on how the event could run safely.

“I can appreciate that, to the layperson, this sounds like people just getting in a ring and having a go. It is not,” he said.

The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Perth event on its website.

“It is not my cup of tea, but the Combat Sports Commission has provided preliminary advice that anything of this nature requires at least two medical practitioners and requires the participants to be experienced and knowledgeable of the particular discipline.”

Cook said lifting the ban had resulted in two successful UFC events in Perth and allowed juniors in the sport to rise, such as current Perth-raised UFC Welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena.

Question time descended into chaos as Labor ministers accused the opposition of double standards on community safety in opposing bare-knuckle boxing but pursuing a disallowance motion against WA’s new firearms regulations.

“Should we stop people from buying semi-automatic pistols?” Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia said.

The Australian Medical Association staunchly opposes the event, describing it as the human equivalent of a dog fight.

“We have a domestic violence crisis; we have people sorting out their problems with their fists in Northbridge on Saturday night; this is not the type of example our community needs,” AMA WA President Michael Page told 9 News Perth earlier this month.

“We have so many fantastic other sports, so many opportunities for tourism and entertainment in our community, we don’t need this type of race to the bottom with bloody violence.”

Despite organisers announcing their intentions for July in Perth via social media months ago, the Combat Sports Commission only received the request for a permit over the past week or so.

“The CSC has provided an initial briefing to the Minister for Sport and Recreation [Rita Saffioti],” a spokeswoman said.

“The CSC will continue to liaise with industry stakeholders.”

On Friday Saffioti said the government believed the event could go ahead with additional regulations such as doctors on site.

She said she would not attend.

“Probably not. I don’t attend every sporting event in this state,” she said.

Attempts to contact BKFC for comment were unsuccessful.

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