There have been calls for an end to the long absence of fight nights in Tamworth, with a prominent NSW promotor keen to stage an event and high-profile combat sports identity Scott Chaffey "100 per cent" behind the proposal.
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A Tamworth fight card could be headlined by the city's current national Muay Thai champion, Josh McCulloch.
The move follows the recent successful staging of a boxing night at the Gunnedah Town Hall.
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Wests Entertainment Group's Blazes Showroom and the Tamworth Town Hall have been identified as ideal venues to stage a fight card.
Both Wests chief executive Rod Laing and Tamworth Regional Council mayor Col Murray believe a fight night can be greenlit.
The Toukley-based fight promotor Tim Drury, who stages events under the Next Generation banner, said he could stage a mixed combat sports card in Tamworth. He last tried to stage a fight night in the city in 2019.
"I did come up there and I was trying to get a venue," he said. "But it was really hard to get a venue, to be honest.
"So that's why I haven't done one at this point, but I'd definitely love to do one up there."
Drury said some venues may be concerned about unruly crowd behaviour at fight promotions. "But I've never had an issue," he added. "I'm an ex-police officer, my wife's a current police officer.
"I work with the police really closely on that side [of it]."
Chaffey - the operator of Chaffey's Black Belt Academy, and McCulloch's trainer - said he "was open to any combat sport" regarding a fight night "that allow our locals to showcase their skills in either Muay Thai, kickboxing or boxing".
He said Blazes would be "a cracker of a venue", while stressing that he was confident unruly spectators would not be an issue.
The "Bad Intentions 6" fight event at the Gunnedah Town Hall in April drew a well-behaved and "massive crowd", he said, adding: "It was great for the community."
Laing said there was a "strong possibility we could be interested" in hosting a fight night.
"There wouldn't be too many venues, other than council venues - the Town Hall or TREC - that would be in a position to do that," he added.
Murray said "I'm sure it would be" when asked if council would be OK with a fight promotion being held at the Town Hall.
"I'm not aware of any policies that suggest otherwise," he said. "But there's a process you'd have to go through."
He added: "We can't do this sort of stuff through the media; it doesn't work that way."
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Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
