You could hear, almost feel, the passion in Dave Allison鈥檚 voice over the phone.
The veteran boxing trainer, who has been involved in the 鈥楽weet Science鈥� for decades, didn鈥檛 hold back when speaking about the death of Tim Hague, who died two days after losing to Adam Braidwood in a pro heavyweight bout June 16 in Edmonton.
After getting knocked out, Hague walked out of the ring under his own power.
Soon after, however, Hague was admitted to the hospital, where he died June 18.
Allison said this is a tragedy that could have easily been avoided, and lays the blame squarely on what he calls 鈥渉omogenizing鈥� mixed martial arts (MMA) with boxing.
They are completely different sports, noted Allison, who says it鈥檚 dangerous for an athlete who trains primarily in MMA to believe he can go into the ring and compete against an opponent whose sole focus is boxing.
鈥淭he biggest problem, here, is MMA,鈥� said Allison, who is organizing the the Clash at the Cascades boxing card tonight (July 14) at the Coast Hotel in downtown 91原创 (see preview story on page 23). 鈥淭here is a huge dysfunction in combative sports right now, with MMA athletes assuming they can box. They are not training properly and they don鈥檛 understand the sport, and have coaches who don鈥檛 understand the sport.鈥�
(Braidwood, who once fought out of the Port Kells Boxing Club, had appeared in the amateur portion of past Clash at the Cascades shows. Braidwood now sports an 8-1-0 pro record, has not lost since 2009, and seven of his eight wins have come via knockout or technical knockout).
This is taking nothing away from MMA, Allison stressed, because if the tables were turned and if a pure boxer was involved an MMA match, a fighter trained in mixed martial arts could take a boxer down to the mat and used judo, jiu jitsu, or wrestling.
In this scenario that, too, would be a mismatch.
Allison maintained that, despite last month鈥檚 tragedy, boxing is a very safe sport.
鈥淲e have a great track record of safety,鈥� Allison said. 鈥淥ur organization, Combsport, has been operating鈥�, I think we鈥檙e going into year No. 9, now, and we鈥檝e never had an accident, an injury鈥� anything. If boxers are properly matched, properly trained, boxing is a very safe sport.鈥�
In fact, Allison says boxing has a rich history.
鈥淚 can think of no other sport I would rather see a youngster involved in,鈥� he said.
For Allison, this is not just rhetoric.
His son, James, was in a boxing gym at eight years of age, and went on to compete in 72 matches, winning national medals as well as many other accolades.
鈥淛ames did all this despite being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes before his first fight at the age of 10,鈥� Allison said. 鈥淛ames is still involved as a trainer and also organizes the Clash events.鈥�
Allison said that B.C. has an MMA Commission that was set up to facilitate the UFC/MMA.
鈥淚t has become the sanctioning body for amateur MMA and kickboxing and 80 to 90 per cent of their activity is amateur martial arts,鈥� Allison noted. 鈥淲hen pro boxing does happen in BC the officials such as judges and referees are Combsport/WBC Canada officials that are licensed by the commission.鈥�
These are some of the best officials in Canada, according to Allison.
Combsport/WBC Canada a non-profit that is a self funded sanctioning body facilitating amateur boxing in B.C. for almost a decade, Allison explained.
鈥淭he quality of these officials and the boxing culture around the local WBC amateur affiliate keeps pro boxing in good order,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he BC commission respects their officials and this is an asset in B.C., keeping pro boxing on the right path.鈥�
As well, knowledgeable boxing trainers teach their fighters not to get hit as much as they train them to hit the other boxer. In fact, Allison pointed out, well-trained boxers will spend years learning how to take an edge off the punch, and how not to get hit.
鈥淚n MMA, that avoidance is not existent,鈥� Allison said. 鈥淪o when you get an MMA guy who can throw the odd punch, it gives a false impression of what they can do Sure, they can throw the odd punch but they can鈥檛 defend against it, and that鈥檚 where the actual technical difference lies.鈥�
Allison said mixing MMA with boxing has got to stop. 鈥淢y corner bucket is older than the sport of MMA. I鈥檝e been using my corner bucket longer than that sport has existed. The cultures of the two sports are so different. It鈥檚 not a one size fits all, and so long as that is being done at the commission level and even at the club level, you are going to see more of this kind of nonsense.鈥�
Allison said the bout between Hague and Braidwood shouldn鈥檛 have gone past the first round.
鈥淭here are signs that you can see when a fighter doesn鈥檛 want to be in the ring,鈥� Allison said.
鈥淣ow I鈥檓 not saying (Hague) didn鈥檛 want to be in the ring the minute he stepped into it. I鈥檓 sure he did. He鈥檚 a tough guy, he鈥檚 a competitor, but once the reality of that fight started to evolve in the ring鈥� he had no answer for what Braidwood was doing. No answer.鈥�
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