Mike Perry continues to build his combat sports portfolio by entering the promoter space.
Friday, after ceremonial weigh-ins for his upcoming boxing bout against Jake Paul, Perry, along with his team at First Round Management, Josh McLean of Kanpai Media and Adam Kovacs of Karate Combat, held a press conference to announce the launch of a new combat sports organization called Dirty Boxing Championship.
The organization will feature a new concept of hybrid rules that mixes elements of boxing, muay Thai, and MMA.
“We foresee Dirty Boxing as a visually-captivating and explosive contest of will between combatants,” Perry said in a press release. “Opponents will box the sweet science gloved like an MMA fighter with the freedom to throw elbows like a Thai fighter. Plus, if the action hits the ground, fighters can keep striking to finish the fight.
“I am so proud to be standing here with my partners, because today is Dirty Boxing Championship Day and this is the moment dirty boxing became legit.”
Competitors in Dirty Boxing will wear small five-ounce gloves and fight in an 18-foot ring. Regular fights will be three, three-minute rounds, with championship fights adding two additional rounds. Weigh classes are expected to be similar to MMA with 10-pound increments.
The unique ruleset allows for standing elbows and ground and pound, as long as the striking fighter stands on both feet.
The promotion has not yet announced a streaming platform or broadcast partner, but expects to have those details ironed out soon.
According to Kovacs, the first event is expected to be around late Semptember or October with a “friends and family” atmosphere to get a feel for the rules and how the fights unfold.
During the press conference, Perry expressed his desire to promote and fight in the promotion as long as the matchups “makes sense.”
