WA Sports Minister Rita Saffioti will not overrule bare knuckle boxing competition amid health concerns

The West Australian government has been warned by concerned health advocates that it will be responsible for any deaths if a bare knuckle fighting event goes ahead in Perth. WA Sports Minister Rita Saffioti has declared she will not intervene to stop the Promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship from coming Down Under if it’s given the all clear from the state’s Combat Sports Commission (CSC). “The event has to be sanctioned by the Combat Sports Commission … there’s two stages of this,” she said. “This was the first, whether the sport can be allowed in the state, and that was something that has been signed off by the previous minister. “And then there’s the actual event … what the proponents have to do is put forward to the CSC what is involved and then the commission either approves or doesn’t approve it.” Ms Saffioti said she was aware that although not everyone enjoyed combat sports, it was more important to ensure the sport could be regulated.“If you don’t regulate, then things go underground and it’s much less safe for the competitors,” she told Perth Today’s Simon Beaumont. “It’s not my cup of tea, but similar to the discussion and the debate around cage fighting or the octagon, MMA and UFC, similar arguments were put forward … but all I can do is take the advice of the board and the team that’s been appointed to give me this advice. “I take the advice of the Combat Sports Commission seriously. They’ve gone in, they’ve created some additional regulations in relation to safety.” “As I said, it’s now up to the promoter of the event to make sure they satisfy all the regulations and rules that the Combat Sport Commission have put in place.” Regulations imposed include the presence of medical practitioners onsite and ringside. “The advice is that they believe with the level of regulations they’ve imposed that it can be undertaken safely in WA,” Ms Saffioti said. Health advocates warn that a death during the event will leave the state government with bloody hands. In 2021, American bare knuckle fighter Justin Thornton died in hospital more than six weeks after suffering a horrific knockout. Just 38, Thornton collapsed after taking several vicious blows to the head and face during the first round of a championship fixture in Mississippi. His injuries left him partially paralysed, requiring assistance breathing, and he suffered an infection in his lungs and spinal cord. Australia Medical Association WA president Michael Page told 7News that the government was only “taking the advice that they want to take”. “They’re not taking any advice from society, they’re not taking advice from us, they’re not taking any advice from anyone in our community,” he said. “Our government has the ability to stop this from happening and if there is a death during the event then of course that falls at the feet of our government that’s made this decision.” The event, pending approval, is set to go ahead on July 19.