Smith On Fighters Being Exploited In Failing System

Former middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super-middleweight contender Paul Smith says fighters are being exploited in a broken system that leaves them with no safety net beyond community fundraisers.

Smith announced the Global Fighters' Association on Tuesday, a non-profit organisation seeking to become the umbrella union for combat sports globally. The group has secured barrister Jonathan Caplan KC to lead what it calls the largest-ever inquiry into health and safety across boxing and mixed martial arts, the BBC reports. The GFA is crowdfunding £500,000 to fund the investigation, which will examine governance and treatment of fighters from grassroots to professional level.

Why Smith Says Boxing's Support System Is Broken

Smith, who challenged three times for a world title before retiring in 2017, pointed to recent fundraisers for injured fighters like Lee Reeves as evidence the sport has failed its participants. "Every week, somewhere in this sport, a fighter is hurt, exploited or forgotten, and the only safety net is whatever the boxing community can scrape together after the fact," he told the BBC. "That's not a system. That's a failing."

The GFA's stated goals include campaigning for fair contracts, better pay, insurance and pensions, proper health standards, and an official channel for reporting problems. Chair designate Simon Bazalgette said combat sport remains one of the last workplaces with no professional representation for its workers, leaving athletes without minimum safety standards or an independent pension scheme.

British MMA fighter Michael Venom Page called for a fighters' union earlier this month, citing the Muhammad Ali Act as a model. The 2000 US law protects boxers' rights and combats monopolies, but UFC president Dana White has pushed to amend it in ways critics say favour promoters. GFA acting general secretary Paul Maloney warned that if the act gets stripped back, fighters elsewhere will lose what little protection exists. The inquiry is expected to produce actionable recommendations once Caplan's team completes its evidence-gathering process.

Source: bbc.co.uk