Latest news with #DavidTempleman
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘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.' Loading 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. '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.'
The Age
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
‘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.' Loading 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. '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.'
