dan h wrote:Wouldn't happen in any other state?
What about the state that sanctioned Briggs v Green. Or what about Mundine v Ellis at SMW after a 6 year lay off.
his AGE (almost 41) should not stop him from getting his licence if he has met the physical requirements. Otherwise he would have a case for a discrimination action.
Yes i agree with you to a point, Briggs v Green should never have happened, so should Mundine v Ellis, But in both cases, the fighter's concerned, had been either former World rated & regional Champions, or former World Champions, and have actually fought as professionals previously, but i still believe even in light of this, both those fights should not have happened and i said this publicly when these happened.
However, In this case, you have a guy making his professional debut at 41 years old, He's never fought before, He's a newbie, a novice, it's laughable, in the other Government controlled states, you cannot debut at 40 or 41 years old, and rightfully so.
This bit about discrimination does not stack up either in my view, because these same people, would happily litigate against the appropriate people, if something horrible was to happen, as a result of them being granted a license to fight, and something went horribly wrong.
Look, i would not know Mr. Hollioake if i fell over him, I do not know how physically fit he is, but you cannot tell me, that at 41 years old, his reflexes and/or resistance and hand/eye co-ordination will be that of a 20 or 25 year old, So really, he has no place being in there, and i feel the only reason he was granted a license, was because he has some fame as a previous sports person, no other reason, because i know of other's have been knocked back for a licence for being too old, by the very same people, it just shows of their double standards in my opinion.
So there has to be some common sense taken here, and 41 years old, is too old to debut, I bet if Leigh Blacka bashes him and puts him in hospital in a coma, let's watch for the Solicitors and legal people who have a "No win, No pay deal" then line up to get on the case, you cannot win either way, then watch the Qld ANBF run and duck for cover.
If you allow them to fight, and they get hurt, then someone is responsible, if they refuse their license on grounds of age, then they're discriminating, So there is no easy way out of this, except to say, there is an age limit and that's that, 41 years old is just to old to debut, no matter who you are.
If you've been an active fighter and then turn 40 or 41 such as say Bob Mirovic, then yes, maybe on a fight by fight basis like he was, But still, In the end the NSW Commission saw common sense and said to Bob, enough is enough, your only getting hurt and knocked about, because father time beats us all, This is what I told Big Bob after I refereed him vs. Alex Leapai, I could see that he had really slipped and was getting hurt, I stopped the fight concerned for his health and safety, and in order to save him the embarrassment of being knocked out cold, thus showing I would not have been be doing my job correctly.
Irrespective of what most of the supporters in here think, someone must take responsibility and act sensibly, after-all, it's just a sport, they're not fighting for sheep stations, and there's lots of living after boxing.
Finally, this is just my opinion after being in this sport for more than 50 years, I don't profess to be better than you, or smarter than you, I am probably or maybe just a little more experienced in the sport than you are?? who knows, but it's all about opinions, mine is, this is just so wrong, yours maybe it's all ok, it's a free world, so each to their own.
Cheers and best regards
Brad Vocale