Category:Athletics--Toughman Contests

TOUGHMAN CONTESTS. The Toughman Contest, founded in 1979 in Bay City, Michigan by boxing promoter Art Dore, weas a chance for the novice amateur fighters (those with no more than 5 sanctioned wins in the past 5 years) to test themselves in the ring. Using standard boxing rules, 16 oz. gloves, headgear,and 3 rounds of 1 minute with a 45-second rest period, The Original Toughman Contest plays across the US in between 75 and 100 cities each year and culminates with the World Championship, which in 2008 was held at Sam's Town Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.

Tournaments featured the local residents of a particular city (generally, participants must live within 100-150 mile radius of where the event is to be held) who are at least 18 years of age, pass a standard boxing physical, and meet any other requirements of the State's Boxing Commissions' regulations, and also sign a waiver freeing the parent company from liability. Some states, like Florida and Missouri do not sanction Toughman but do license mixed martial arts, an event many people confuse with the Original Toughman Contest.

The Original Toughman Contest is often mistaken with other elimination tournaments and therefore bears media brunt for contests which illegally use the trademarked name or derivatives of it. Toughman holds events only in states that have rules or state code permitting the format.

National attention was drawn to the risks of the Toughman bouts following the death of thirty-year-old Stacy Young in a "Toughwoman" bout staged as part of a Toughman competition in Sarasota FL in 2003. Twenty-year-old Sara Kobie pummeled Young, a last-minute entry, resulting in Young's death from brain injuries. Art Dore's company was sued by Ms. Young's husband, but Dore was able to stall the litigation by getting part of the case venue moved from Florida to his home state of Michigan. The following year, Florida enacted the Stacy Young Act into law, requiring such competitions be sanctioned by the Florida State Boxing Commission. A 2007 review of boxing deaths documented six fatalities in "Original Toughman" competitions since 1979, and another ten in "Toughman-style" bouts.

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Source:

"Toughman Contest," Wikipedia