Combat sports-Ice Wars promises ‘prize fighting on ice’
LOS ANGELES –
Upstart fight sports activities league “Ice Wars” will pit ice hockey enforcers in opposition to one another in a rink subsequent month however as an alternative of scoring the puck, the objective is to knock your opponent out chilly.
“I am calling it prize preventing on ice as a result of on the finish of the day, there isn’t a hockey being performed,” Ice Wars president A.J. Galante advised Reuters.
“There aren’t any sticks, there aren’t any pucks, there aren’t any nets. So sure, it is full hockey gear and it’ll predominantly be present hockey gamers. But it surely’s prize preventing with a handbag on the road.”
As an adolescent, Galante’s father made him the overall supervisor of the now-defunct Danbury Trashers, a minor league staff so violent and controversial that final yr it turned the topic of the Netflix documentary “Untold: Crime and Penalties.”
He moved on to boxing and stated the wave of curiosity in modern fight sports activities – every thing from naked knuckle boxing to pillow preventing has grabbed headlines not too long ago – led him to imagine the time was proper to launch his ardour venture.
A bout will encompass two, one-minute rounds with a 30-second “ice breaker” within the occasion that the fighters break up the rounds.
The fighters will put on 4-ounce MMA gloves and can’t deliberately take their opponent’s helmet off. But when it comes off as the results of an amazing punch, it is “sport on,” stated Galante.
The idea dates again to the “Battle of the Hockey Enforcers,” an occasion that was held in British Columbia in 2005 and served as an inspiration for Ice Wars.
Ice warrior Daniel Amesbury stated he’s wanting to showcase his expertise.
“As loopy as it would sound, that is one thing that I’ve all the time had behind my thoughts,” Amesbury stated.
“Six months in the past I used to be saying to my buddy that it is too unhealthy there is not some sport the place I can benefit from this distinctive talent that I’ve.
“I do not know if I manifested it or what occurred, nevertheless it wasn’t a lot later that this ended up taking place and I am fired up.”
Whereas no Nationwide Hockey League (NHL) gamers are anticipated to take part, Amesbury is getting ready for stiff competitors from gamers who compete within the American Hockey League (AHL) in addition to mid-tier leagues just like the ECHL and LNAH.
He stated the size of the bouts will assure continuous motion.
“A median hockey combat might be beneath 20 seconds,” he stated.
“So one minute is an extended combat. It is a whole lot of motion. There’s going to be a whole lot of punches being thrown and there is going to be a whole lot of blood. It will be enjoyable, man.”
Ice Wars will debut with an eight-man ‘King of the Rink’ heavyweight match in Edmonton on Might 21 that might be streamed on FITE.
(Enhancing by Toby Davis)
