Unlicensed Boxing is Biased and Dangerous

Saturday night saw the return of a regular unlicensed boxing event in Cheshunt, Herts, UK. The event, put on by Mehmet, a personal & boxing trainer at Ripped Gym in Harlow, Essex, is held approximately every three months. Mehmet’s the man responsible for organising and promoting the entire event, and setting up fights between suitable amateur boxers.

Being an unlicensed event there are no drug-tests and some fighters appeared to be heavy steroid users (how else do they get their necks wider than their heads?), although they could easily be taking far more dangerous substances with no-one being any the wiser (imagine a boxer on PCP!).

The most entertaining fight of the night – with the exception of an unexpected kick-boxing match – was between Rob “Mad-Dog” Wooster, of Cheshunt, Herts, and his new-comer opponent from Harlow, Essex. At the first bell Mad-Dog flew out of his corner like a raging animal, knocking his stunned opponent to the floor before inflicting a series of heavy blows to his head from above, whilst his opponent struggled back to his feet. Shockingly, the referee didn’t see a problem with this abhorrent behaviour and allowed the fight to continue, rather than taking the usual step of disqualifying the cheater. Later in the match ex-convict Rob “Mad-Dog” Wooster’s classy corner-men were seen entering the opposite corner to swear at and generally abuse his opponent and corner-men on at least one occasion. Again, the events regular referee (if that’s what you can call him) did nothing.

Spectators claim Mad-Dog hit his opponent while he was down on at least another two, possibly three, occasions, but at no point was he disqualified. The fight was stopped in the third and final round, with Mad-Dog disgustingly hailed as winner. Several spectators questioned whether he’d had been taking something before the fight, saying he looked “wild,” or “had a crazy look in his eyes.” Others were heard to exclaim “That wasn’t a boxing match – that man was trying to batter him!” or “The referee’s a joker”. Many said they wouldn’t return to future events, having wasted money on an obvious farce, or expressing concern at the lack of safety for the boxers involved (all of whom are unpaid).

It’s interesting to note that nineteen year-old Rob “Mad-Dog” Wooster not only had more experience than his opponent – having won six out of six fights, whilst his opponent made his debut appearance that very night – but also had a clear advantage regarding height and age. Despite all this being in his favour he refused to fight fairly, cheating in every round against an absolute beginner old enough to be his father. Why such a fight was arranged in the first place remains a mystery: the aggressive Mad-Dog should obviously have been fighting someone younger, bigger, and with far more experience than his opponent on Saturday night (although it has to be said the Harlow man held his own, getting back to his feet and standing his ground until the fight was eventually stopped). There was nothing challenging about the fight as far as Mad-Dog was concerned., and if his reputation for winning thus far was built by beating up old men with no experience – and by cheating to do so – then perhaps a better name for him is Rob “Sad-Pussy” Wooster.

Other matches saw obvious fixes, with draws and wins for Cheshunt fighters who’d obviously lost to their Harlow opponents – sometimes having been knocked down twice during the three rounds. The kick-boxing match was also a farce with the clear winner from West Ham being forced to accept a draw, despite flooring his Cheshunt opponent.

The night was obviously nothing more than a money-making exercise for the promoter, who charges between £20 and £50 for entrance and makes no attempt to match opponents fairly, or even safely. The majority of the crowd were aggressive men from the Cheshunt area and judges clearly found in favour of their fighters in order to avoid violence – leaving Harlow fighters without a chance in of winning – unless they knocked their opponents out cold.

The night was a bitter disappointment for many boxers and spectators and the Ripped Gym in Harlow is buzzing with stories of unfair refereeing and the unreasonable matching of certain boxers. The general consensus is that Mad-Dog and his father (the abusive corner-man) embarrassed themselves with their appalling behaviour, and it’s hoped he’ll experience his comeuppance in the next event. If the promoter is reading this article he would be advised to ensure all future events are refereed by someone more competent and that judges aren’t so obviously biased. Currently the event is a joke.

For anyone wanting to watch a good fight, or to fight a fair one, unlicensed boxing (especially the Cheshunt event) comes highly unrecommended…