Fight regulator says it had no say in ban on combative sports

Edmonton’s fight regulator says it was blindsided by a city council decision to temporarily ban combative sports following the death of boxer Tim Hague this past summer.

Members of Edmonton’s boxing, mixed-martial arts and pro-wrestling communities packed Monday night’s meeting of the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission — the first since the city announced Dec. 8 a yearlong moratorium on fights as it reviews its regulations.

Promoters told the commission the moratorium would do lasting damage to the city’s combative sports industry.

But chairman Steven Phipps said there was little the commission — which he said was sympathetic to their concerns — can do.

“I’m sure it’s not easy for these commission members to sit up here, as volunteers, and take punches for city council — no pun intended.”

“We were completely uninvolved in the decision to impose the moratorium,” he said. “This commission had no input, this commission had no notice, this was a decision purely of city council through a bylaw amendment.”

He added the decision was “within (council’s) prerogative, so don’t take this as a criticism by me or this commission of city council doing it. I think that is up to the people in the industry to do.”

Hague died in hospital two days after a June 16 heavyweight boxing match with former Edmonton Eskimo Adam Braidwood.

On Dec. 8, the city announced a one-year moratorium on new licences and event permits for combative sports. The moratorium was followed a week later by the release of a third-party review commissioned after Hague’s death.

The report called for better sharing of medical records and monitoring of head injuries, and recommended the city work with the province and other municipalities to “encourage the implementation of a provincial commission” with consistent rules for combative sports in Alberta.

Eight of Canada’s 10 provinces already have a provincial combative sports commission, Phipps said.

Six people — including athletes, trainers and promoters — spoke about the moratorium at Monday’s meeting.

Melanie Lubovac, a promoter with K.O. Boxing, said it was jeopardizing upcoming fights.

She added the moratorium was having unintended consequences on gyms, the broader economy and the fighters themselves.

“A lot of these athletes, without being licensed, can’t even fight anywhere else,” she said.

“So you’re pretty much putting a halt to their careers.”