By GM Ross: This is the second installment of a three part series on current issues in Canadian boxing. Today, we focus on caged boxing. Chris Norrad recently participated in a professional boxing match in a MMA cage in Moncton, New Brunswick. Shortly thereafter, I wrote an article strongly pleading boxers in New Brunswick to avoid such matches.
The caged boxing issue was posed to TSN boxing analyst Russ Anber, Canadian Professional Boxing Council (CPBC) President Don Collette and National Championship Committee (NCC) member Ed Pearson, to see how some of Canada’s leading pugilistic voices feel about boxing in a MMA cage.
TSN’s Russ Anber was against boxing in MMA cages for strictly safety reasons. “I think it’s probably dangerous to have boxing in a MMA cage, because you could be subject to getting your head hurt…if someone drills your head into the cage.” Anber noted stylistic differences between MMA and boxing, making boxing in a MMA cage dangerous to competitors. “In MMA a fighter can always grapple a guy to the floor or pick a guy up off his feet if need be.” In boxing, you’re supposed to stay on your feet and can only defend yourself with your hands. When you’re trying to get away from a punch that’s coming at you, a MMA cage is very dangerous.”
Don Collette, President of the CPBC, believes the MMA cage has no place in professional boxing. “The CPBC is dead against boxing in cages. A MMA cage is no place for professional boxing. The sport is meant to be conducted in a four rope ring. It’s been that way for over a hundred years.” Collette went on to state that any boxer ranked by his organization would face serious repercussions for competing in a caged boxing match: “The CPBC stands firm on this issue. Any of our champions found to have competed in a cage will be stripped of their title. Any boxer rated by the CPBC that boxes in a cage will be removed from our rankings.”
Ed Pearson of the NCC also shared his opinions on MMA cages in boxing. “Personally, I don’t like it,” stated Pearson. “The commission, if it allows it, is one thing. However, if the fight is not listed on Fightfax as being a recordable fight (based on the opinion of the Association of Boxing Commissions), and is not therefore recorded as a fight on Fightfax, we won’t recognize it either.” According to Pearson, if a boxer were to fight in a cage, they would continue to be ranked by the NCC. “We won’t remove him [Norrad] from the rankings, because it’s not as though he’s working an illegal unregulated fight somewhere. I have an email into Fightfax on the subject, and we’ll look into this issue when we receive an official response…We won’t be removing him [Norrad] from our ratings because he upset my personal sensibilities.”
I agree with Russ Anber when it comes to cage boxing. It’s simply too dangerous. When I initially covered this topic, I pointed to Dicky Eklund’s infamous knockout of Allen Clarke in Halifax, to illustrate the danger created by placing an unforgiving object behind a boxers head. In this instance, Allen got trapped with his head against the corner padding and, unable to defend himself, suffered one of the most grotesque and unnecessary beatings in Canadian history. The referee, seeing Clarke still standing, was slow to stop the fight, so Eklund continued to punch. When the referee finally realized how hurt Clarke was, the latter had already received numerous punches while unconscious. All because his head was propped up. I contend that a cage would cause similar problems, at a far higher rate. After all, instead of four corners with padding, a cage completely surrounds a fighter. For the safety of the fighters, cage boxing needs to be prevented nationwide.