'This is stupidity': Boxing champs rip 'Power Slap'

1 year ago 38

Sonny Bill Williams and boxing fable Billy Dib person joined a agelong database of erstwhile fighters, commentators and fans to denounce caller athletics Power Slap.

As UFC president Dana White's Power Slap League is acceptable for its pay-per-view debut successful March, the emergence of the caller contention sees participants progressive successful a bid of one-on-one bouts alternate successful copping undefended slaps to the face.

The purpose of the contention is to sound retired the rival rival with an unfastened manus to forestall them from continuing.

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White's caller league has copped plentifulness of disapproval implicit wellness concerns for those taking part, with neurologists claiming slaps to the look tin origin imperishable encephalon damage.

As clips of the caller contention filter passim societal media, much radical person go opposed to it, contempt White's caller league scoring a TV woody with US transmission TBS amid his ain ungraded for slapping his woman connected New Year's Eve.

Dual planetary and boxer Williams said it was a it a "big NO for me" erstwhile fans asked him astir his thoughts connected the caller league.

His station attracted a effect from erstwhile satellite champion Dib who wrote: "This is not sport, this is stupidity."

While fans and athletes are disgusted by the images seen connected societal media, the wage packets connected connection to participants would further question wherefore specified a athletics has been fixed the greenish airy by a broadcaster and the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The contention astir the wage offered to competitors began aft erstwhile UFC prima Eric Spicely revealed that helium had been offered $2000 to diagnostic connected the show, with different $2000 should helium win.

"I was contacted to bash Slap League, you guys would beryllium shocked astatine however overmuch it pays," Spicely wrote connected Twitter.

When a instrumentality mocked Power Slap's "Road to the Title" wherever "you get 2k/2k and possibly 10k/10k if you triumph it all," helium copped a reply from White himself, who claimed the wage was not dissimilar to the purses offered to fighters successful the aboriginal stages of the UFC.

"How MMA started too. Boxing undercards marque this benignant of wealth still. Educate yourself earlier you unfastened the YAP, " White wrote.

In a caller interview, White defended the caller venture, saying the promotion has done its owed diligence.

"We walk the wealth to marque definite that we person 2 steadfast radical successful there," helium said.

"With due aesculapian attraction during and aft the fight. These are each the things we request to amended radical on, conscionable similar we needed to amended radical connected mixed martial arts.

"But, successful slap, they instrumentality 3-5 slaps per event. Fighters successful boxing instrumentality 300-400 punches a fight. And conjecture what? You cognize what my reply to that is? If you don't f---ing similar it, don't ticker it.

"Nobody's asking you to ticker this! Oh, you're disgusted by it? Watch The Voice."

White's constituent of presumption was echoed by Power Slapper Chris Thomas, whose hellacious onslaught was highlighted astatine the apical of the Power Slap premiere.

In an interrogation with Times Magazines, Thomas, who grew up successful and retired of the foster-care strategy successful the US authorities of Idaho and did his archetypal enactment of drugs erstwhile helium was 11, had a connection for each the naysayers.

"If anybody is retired to marque the athletics a atrocious happening oregon person thing atrocious to accidental astir it, conscionable realise that there's radical retired present who truly bask it and person emotion for it and person emotion for the radical who are successful it," helium said.

"It's benignant of selfish to accidental that idiosyncratic tin instrumentality a stick, stab it successful the ground, flick themselves implicit different instrumentality and onshore connected a furniture and telephone that a sport, but we can't telephone Power Slap a sport."

Thomas would not disclose however overmuch helium earned for his efforts but told the publication the sum "changed my life."

Even though mainstream audiences seemed to person made up their minds astir Power Slap, according to White the athletics has a immense beingness online.

"I mean, the societal media and integer is insane [for 'Power Slap']," helium said successful a caller interview.

"I don't cognize if you guys person looked astatine that, but connected TikTok you know, we mean 10 cardinal views per post… and to enactment it into perspective, the WWE does 1.5 million, the UFC does 770,000, the NFL does 545,000, we're pulling 10 million.

"When you look astatine the TV amusement and the spot that we're astatine and everything, everything that they enactment connected that web [TBS] coming from AEW has failed… We clasp 47 to 50 per cent of the AEW assemblage and we're fig 2 each night, with men successful each of cablegram down the NBA."

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