Wakefield Council bans bare knuckle boxing fight scheduled for Production Park in South Kirkby this weekend

A bare knuckle boxing event has been stopped from going ahead by Wakefield Council after police said it would break lockdown rules.
The event would have been held at Production Park but organisers have not been given the required licence.The event would have been held at Production Park but organisers have not been given the required licence.
The event would have been held at Production Park but organisers have not been given the required licence.

A series of eight fights were due to be live streamed online from Production Park, in South Kirkby, this Friday (November 27).

Organisers Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB) insisted the event would have been safe and Covid secure, with rigorous coronavirus testing in advance.

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But despite their claims that professional athletes were involved, West Yorkshire Police said the event didn't qualify as elite sport, which has been exempt from lockdown rules this month.

BKB disagreed with the police on whether or not the event would be safe.BKB disagreed with the police on whether or not the event would be safe.
BKB disagreed with the police on whether or not the event would be safe.

Environmental Health had also called for the bouts not to take place, citing concerns hospitals are under too much pressure to treat any boxers seriously injured on the night.

Jim Freeman, from BKB, told a licensing hearing on Monday that the show would be held without spectators and the 60 staff present would wear masks and adhere to social distancing.

He said: "We will follow all the guidelines you'd expect in the current climate.

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"Our competitors earn thousands of pounds rather than hundreds of pounds. They're professional and they train for 12 weeks prior to the event.

"There's no criminal fraternity that you might have a preconception of at a bare knuckle boxing fight.

"It will put around £50,000 back into the local economy. All our staff are local and the hotels we're staying in are local. One of our fighters is from Wakefield, so it's putting something back into the local community."

The application was backed by Talksport broadcaster Tom Ross, who told the hearing that boxing promoter Eddie Hearn and former heavyweight fighter Frank Bruno were among BKB's supporters.

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He said: "I've covered boxing finals all over the world and BKB's attention to detail and safety is second to none.

"Their protocols are as good as any I've ever seen and even better than some other organisations.

"No professional broadcaster could get involved in this if it wasn't 100 per cent spot on, and this is."

The hearing was told that the event had originally been scheduled at the O2 Arena in London, where previous BKB fights have been held, on November 27.

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Organisers claimed the O2 pulled the plug on hosting the event because it had furloughed staff.

But the police disputed this and said they'd been told the venue's management had deemed it was not an elite sport that would be allowed to take place.

Police officer Mark Thorold said the event would, "Amount to an illegal gathering".

He added: "Unfortunately for Mr Freeman, the Covid lockdown has come in. "We're not questioning how he runs the event, but unfortunately these regulations the government have brought in are an issue on this occasion."

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Julie Barker, from the council's Environmental Health team, added: "I spoke to our director of Public Health this morning about the situation in our local hospitals and to say she was concerned is an understatement.

"It's her belief that they can't cope with any additional pressures put on them as a result of injured boxers attending A&E or neurosurgery.

"Holding a bare knuckle boxing event is not essential at this time and any injuries arising would put an additional strain on our already overstretched hospitals."

After deliberating for more than an hour, a panel of three councillors decided against allowing the fights to take place.

Local Democracy Reporting Service