BKFC Perth: Sports Minister says she doesn’t think combat sports commission would allow ex-bikie to fight

Sports Minister Rita Saffioti suspects an ex-bikie turned professional boxer won’t be allowed to fight at the proposed bare knuckle boxing event at RAC Arena, while Anthony Albanese said he “probably” wouldn’t let the event go ahead at all if it were his decision. The Prime Minister said bare knuckle boxing “doesn’t appeal” to him and when asked if he would disallow the event if it came across his desk, Mr Albanese replied he “probably” wouldn’t let it go ahead. “From my perspective, as I said, it’s not really my responsibility as PM, but I do think that we need to be really cognisant about health advice when it comes to these issues because they are really prevalent and in years past there wasn’t as much concern about it,” he said. “I‘ve never actually heard of bare knuckle boxing taking place, It’s pretty obvious what it is, I’m assuming it’s what it sounds like.” It comes after Matthew Floyd, former leader of the WA chapter of the Lone Wolf bikie gang, revealed to The West Australian he was awaiting news from the WA Combat Sports Commission on whether he would be granted a permit fight to on the proposed Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Perth card in July. On Tuesday, moments after saying the fate of Floyd’s bare knuckle future in WA sat with the commission, Ms Saffioti said she suspected he “wouldn’t be a part” of the event. “All of those issues are assessed by the combat sports commission, so basically, the commission checks all of the potential boxers and fighters,” she said. “They go through assessments, and that’s what they’re there for, so they’ll go through, and in relation to any event, they will have to go through and assess whether the particular boxer or fighter should be on the card. “I suspect, given the checks that (the commission) have . . . I suspect (Floyd) wouldn’t be part of it”. The 36-year-old seasoned boxer, who was jailed for an assault on a police informant, is hoping the commission will look past his criminal history and grant him the “life-changing opportunity” with a permit to fight this week. He claims to have struggled to obtain a permit in his home-state for half a decade because of his past crimes. Floyd became the president of the WA Lone Wolf bikie gang chapter after a stint in prison over ecstasy tablets. He later directed his fellow bikies to hunt “child abusers,” with one of his bash victims a police informant. The WA Government has faced intense scrutiny over the proposed event by the Australian Medical Association and other opposition. Ms Saffioti on Monday said she wouldn’t veto the event’s approval by the combat sport’s commission, despite having the power to do so. The commission is expected to make a final decision by Saturday. Commission chair Bob Kucera told ABC radio the president of the US association of ringside physicians said bare-knuckle boxing had a low risk of concussion and hand fracture rate and a high laceration rate. “The only difference between this and all the other ones (such as Muay-Thai, kickboxing and MMA) is that they don’t have any padding on their hands,” he said. “The only strikes that are allowed are with the hands, they can’t kick, they can’t use their elbows, they can’t use their feet, as you do in other disciplines.”