PENNSYLVANIA 'Toughman' contest nixed by commission

The state commission cited concerns about contestants' safety.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A promoter of "Toughman" amateur boxing contests won't be allowed to stage two days of amateur bouts in Pennsylvania next month, the state's athletic commission ruled, citing concerns about contestants' safety.
The commission on Oct. 27 rejected an application by promoter Art Dore for the "PA Punchout," which was scheduled to take place Dec. 12 and 13 in the Lebanon Valley Expo Center in Lebanon, about 30 miles east of Harrisburg, commission spokesman Brian McDonald said Tuesday.
The event was to be sanctioned by the American Boxing and Athletic Association, a nonprofit company in Bay City, Mich., that Dore created and controls.
Commission felt uncomfortable
"The bottom line is really that the athletic commission felt uncomfortable with what [Dore] referred to as his style of amateur boxing," McDonald said. "The commission felt pretty strongly that the majority of the contestants wouldn't have been properly trained to participate ... the members came to a consensus that there was no way this was going to happen."
A spokeswoman for the association, Lydia Robertson, said the commission did not give fair consideration to the application, possibly because of publicity about the deaths of some Toughman competitors.
Despite critics who say many Toughman contestants lack training or boxing experience, Robertson said the AABA requires, among other things, that participants must have been in training for at least 30 days prior to entering a match.
Four deaths in past year
At least four people have died in Toughman bouts nationwide during the last year. The events are open to amateur boxers who compete for small prizes, such as jackets and trophies.
"The commission, I think, is extrapolating what they may have read in the media, what they believe might happen," Robertson said.
The "PA Punchout" was not being billed as a Toughman event, however, according to Robertson and McDonald. A 1992 state law bans Toughman competitions, but enables the athletic commission to grant exceptions as it sees fit.
Contestants sign forms indicating they have trained for the event, but in reality many have not trained or boxed before.
Robertson said the commission indicated in its rejection of Dore's application that another organization called USA Boxing was the only amateur boxing association it recognized.
"That's like saying you can't swim on a swim team unless it's a YMCA swim team," she said.
The commission does sanction anywhere from 50 to 80 amateur boxing events across the state, McDonald said.
Concerned about training
"The biggest component to the fights are that the contestants are properly trained and coached in the proper techniques in order to keep them safe in the ring. There are all sorts of physical measures that are needed to make sure people are in proper shape, because boxing is one of the most rigorous sports you can partake in," he said.
As of Tuesday, the Lebanon Valley Exposition Corp., which manages the center, still included the ABAA event on a calendar posted on its Web site. Officials did not return telephone messages seeking comment.