Latest news with #amateurfighting
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Police take action after UFC star Dan Hooker held wild fight event in his own backyard - then blasted 'lefties having a sulk' after shocking footage came to light
UFC star Dan Hooker has helped a senior member of one of New Zealand's most notorious gangs avoid trouble with police after he competed in a wild fight event in his backyard. Hooker put up a $50,000 prize for the 'one-minute scrap' tournament at his Auckland home on May 24, attracting 32 amateur fighters who punched each other on his lawn while his elderly neighbours watched on in disbelief over the fence. One of the fighters, Jon Paul 'Fightdog' Te Rito, was filmed winning fights at the unregulated event, and was referred to police because he was allegedly supposed to be attending a rehabilitation program at the time. Te Rito - who was seen wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet while fighting and is a member of the Mongrel Mob gang - could have broken his bail conditions, a Department of Corrections representative said. The fighter was referred to police over the matter, leading to Hooker stepping in. The 35-year-old wrote a letter supporting Te Rito, claiming the event was a 'platform for self expression, and a healthy outlet to cope with life's pressures'. 'Physical activity is a proven tool to help men overcome mental health issues, such as depression or addiction,' he wrote. 'It can be more productive than an unrelatable counselling session.' Hooker posted his letter to Instagram with the caption, 'Today 'Fightdog' was released from custody. 'The judge ruled his attendance at my event did not breach his bail and he was able to return home.' The post came with a photo appearing to show Hooker and Te Rito's supporters celebrating outside a courthouse. Hooker's event came in for harsh criticism after he released a video of all 30 of the tournament fights on YouTube. New Zealand Boxing Coaches Association president Billy Meehan told Checkpoint the event was '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,' Meehan said. 'It's just barbaric, the biggest issue is the people getting in the ring half the time aren't conditioned enough to be there, they aren't matched correctly.' Hooker got his fellow Kiwi UFC star Israel Adesanya to help him promote the event by telling fighters and fans, 'Bring the family, bring the whanau [Māori for extended family], come watch, you'll get knocked out or knock someone the f*** out.' Hooker reacted to the criticism by saying only one fighter got hurt and what happened in his backyard didn't break any laws. 'There's a few lefties having a sulk, but once everyone watches the full 45 minutes and sees the respect for the fighters, since when did putting gloves on in the backyar and having a punch-up become illegal?' he told popular MMA program the Ariel Helwani Show. 'It's being run by some of the most experienced combat sports people in the country. 'I knew everyone would think it was crazy, I knew there would be people who would have issues with it. I wanted it at my house so I could control it. 'There were a couple [of] bumps, a couple [of] scrapes, obviously a few of the boys were run through concussion protocol.' Hooker added that he believes his bouts were safer than boxing because he had a three-second knockdown rule in place and fights were called off if one competitor suffered two knockdowns, leaving the pugs 'a lot less banged up' than if they'd fought over multiple three-minute rounds in the ring. Critics of the backyard brawl-fest have had the opposite of their desired effect, with the lightweight UFC star saying their actions have convinced him to stage another tournament. The Kiwi UFC star (pictured weighing in for a fight last year) has been spurred on to hold more beatdowns in his backyard 'Now you've challenged me. I was going to leave it but now there are people trying to stop me,' he said. 'Now I am honour-bound and forced to pursue it.' Cameron Harcourt, who fought in the event, gave it his full backing. 'We're going to fight anyway,' he said. 'There's fights out in the streets ... if you had beef, you apply for this and you jump in, and it gives us a place to do it in a controlled environment. 'The thuggery is taken out and we've turned it into a sport.'
RNZ News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
President of NZ's Boxing Coaches Association calls out Dan Hooker's fighting event
The president of New Zealand's Boxing Coaches Association has called an event where 32 amateur fighters box each other to try and win $50,000 "straight-out thuggery." The tournament, called "king of the streets", is being promoted by professional mixed martial arts fighter Dan "Hangman" Hooker and was endorsed by UFC fighter Israel Adesanya. The event is being promoted as having no professionals and no weight limits, with competitors taking part in one minute "scraps" wearing MMA gloves. Association president Billy Meehan told Checkpoint it's not boxing, as it's being billed as, and fears someone could be seriously hurt. The tournament appears to be linked to a social media influencer and links to an online gambling site. On May 14th, Hooker posted a video to social media with MMA fighter and former UFC middle weight champion Israel Adesanya endorsing the event and encouraging people to bring the whanau. "Bring the family, bring the whanau, bring everyone, come watch, you'll get knocked out or knock someone the f*** out," Adesanya said. In another video posted on the 17th of May, Hooker said too many fighters had registered, "so if everyone wants to drop their nuts that would be f****** great, hit me up." President of the NZ Boxing Coaches Association Billy Meehan told Checkpoint 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." In professional Olympic-style boxing, athletes use 10- or 12-ounce gloves, "nobody wears four-ounce MMA gloves," he said. "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." President of the NZ Boxing Coaches Association Billy Meehan. Photo: Supplied/ NZ Boxing To promote a boxing tournament, organisers must have a police permit, he said. "It's got to be sanctioned by a sanctioning body. They're not even advertising where they're holding this so the police obviously don't even know." He said there is a list of regulations on the Boxing and Wrestling Act. "Other rules and regulations [are] around weights, weigh ins, full medicals, blood tests and it just goes on and on. "People who can hold boxing tournaments are actually listed on the Wrestling and Boxing Act. Dan Hooker's not on the Wrestling and Boxing Act." The implications of the fight having no weight restrictions is that someone could be seriously hurt, he said. "[If] you've got a 70kg boxer or fighter getting in and fighting a 120kg fighter. You've got a little bit of difference here. Somebody's going to get hurt. "They're actually saying to both sides to go just go out there and smash." In a sanctioned Olympic style boxing tournament, every fighter must have a full medical check beforehand and there are doctors on site, he said. "We have a registration book; everything is recorded in there. Your weight, your record, your experience, so when you're matching, you're matching against similar experience, we have weight divisions." He said he has been seeing similar fights pop up around New Zealand. "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. "It's just barbaric, the biggest issue is the people getting in the ring half the time aren't conditioned enough to be there, they aren't matched correctly." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
