Basic HTML Version
December - 2014
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
20
KL:
Not only was it very difficult,
it was a pretty significant financial
gamble. Promoters in the past had
held non-sanctioned events and
they sold all their tickets through
the gyms and fighters that were
competing on their show. We
held our event in a much larger
(and more expensive) venue –
Terminal 5 on West 55th Street.
Tickets were being sold through
TicketMaster - so it was as “front
and center” as you could get. We
were paying to sanction the show
(and over-staffed it from that
standpoint to make sure we were
as “bullet-proof” as possible).
We did this because we wanted
to protect the fighters, make a
statement, and push the issue to-
wards full regulation. We could
have just thrown it unsanctioned,
as so many others continue to do.
Since it isn’t regulated, there is a
loophole that allows promoters
to throw unsanctioned amateur
events, forgoing significant cost
and a lot more work.
Many fighters and gyms were
hesitant to be a part of the
show, as they were questioning
whether or not it was ‘really’ go-
ing to happen. Fighters were be-
ing influenced to drop out (and
it only takes one to scratch a
whole fight), so the card was fall-
ing apart ALMOST as quickly as
we could put it back together.
We had to bring in fighters from
Puerto Rico, Canada and St. Louis
to make it happen. There were