'pre-arranged' bare-knuckle fight at country horse fair

[Lewis]

Pictured: Like a scene from Snatch - 'pre-arranged' bare-knuckle fight at country horse fair

They didn't need boxing gloves. Or Queensberry rules.

This was the barbaric scene as two men, stripped to the waist, traded blows in a bare-knuckle fight at a horse fair attended by 2,000 gypsies and travellers.

The main business of the day had been watching the horse trading, but around 150 people peeled away and gathered around a nearby tennis court which had been turned into a makeshift boxing ring.

One witness said: 'This big crowd was urging them to beat merry hell out of each other. It was full-on fighting - one of the guys had blood all down his front.

'There was an older guy who looked like he was refereeing and there was loads of jeering and cheering going on.'

The scenes were reminiscent of Snatch, the 2000 film starring Brad Pitt as a bare-knuckle fighter.

Bareknuckle fights are illegal unless held in licensed premises, and anyone taking part in an illegal bout can be charged with assault.

The fight at Wickham Horse Fair, near Fareham in Hampshire, on Wednesday stopped after a few minutes when police arrived. Both men were spoken to by officers, but neither of them wanted to make a complaint and no one was arrested.

The fighters' names are not known but they are believed to be travellers. Superintendent Phil Winchester said: 'There were reports from officers on the ground that a large crowd had gathered and it looked like an organised fight was about to start.

'Additional officers were quickly deployed and once the participants saw that police were about to intervene, the fight stopped.

'The incident was contained to a small area near Wickham Square and at no time were members of the public at any risk.

'Officers at the scene gathered evidence, including video footage, which will be reviewed and further action will be taken if it is deemed necessary.'

The annual horse fair has been the scene of bare-knuckle fights between travellers in the past, although in recent years none has been detected.

Such fights are often held for money, with thousands of pounds sometimes at stake.

Other bouts have been grudge matches between gypsy factions.

Dozens of caravans descended on Tothill Park playing fields in Plymouth, Devon, for a fight planned in 2004 between William 'Boxer Bill' Rayn and the head of a rival gypsy family known as Madman Tom.

The unlikely boast was made at the time that the community had raised £750,000 in prize money, with £500,000 for the winner.

Website: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -fair.html

This shows how ugly sports is. Sports are just an excuse to go around hurting peopl.

[Polite24]

I don't if you're talking about boxing being the sport or the horses.


However, I will say I do find boxing to be kind of dumb. I can watch it from time to time, but in the end the number of hits these guys take to the head really fucks their brain up later on in life.

[Millhouse]

I don't if you're talking about boxing being the sport or the horses.


However, I will say I do find boxing to be kind of dumb. I can watch it from time to time, but in the end the number of hits these guys take to the head really fucks their brain up later on in life.

In that case, I suggest doing some simple google research on football players and the condition of their bodies after 20 years on the field. Now, I know I usually take a more condescending attitude towards you, but this time I'm being serious, you might be surprised at what you find. Oh sure, they're millionaires, some of them billionaires by then, but I'd rather have my physical health intact. You can't buy that for all the money in the world. Medical science hasn't gone that far, unfortunately.

By and large, football players may not be as brain dead as a retired boxer (one has to look no further than Mohammed Ali's current mental condition to get a good idea of what I'm talking about), but the long term damage that gets inflicted on their bodies can be pretty serious. And I'll leave steroids or illegal drug users out of this, I'm just talking about the long term effects of plain, simple physical injuries.

[Earl]

Millhouse, I appreciate your post. Sometimes those of us who don't like sports show more compassion towards the athletes than the sports fans do. I once was over at a friend's home where he and a few other friends of his were watching the big football game between the University of Texas and Texas A&M. (Yes, this is the same guy whose father once got mad at him when he was in high school for poor performance in a football practice. You remember, he dragged him into an empty room in their home where he forced him to catch a football that he constantly tried to hit him in the face with, screaming all the while, "YOU SISSY!") Anyway, the star quarterback for UT, who clearly was a needed asset for the team, was injured in the middle of the game. He was in such pain that I could see him on the TV grimacing in pain as he was being helped off the gridiron. Those of my friend's other friends who were supporting Texas A&M were all over themselves with glee and laughing hysterically, despite the player's clear suffering. Disgusting.

[Polite24]

Football can definitely have some long term effects, but from what I've seen football players for the most part, aren't in too bad of shape when they get old.

[Fat Man]

Football can definitely have some long term effects, but from what I've seen football players for the most part, aren't in too bad of shape when they get old.

Yeah! We know! We know!



Most retired (or retarded) football players wind up sitting in front of their big screen TVs, watching videos of their past games, reminiscing of their former glory days, while drooling from the corners of their mouths and pissing all over their plastic covered couches!

But they're not in too bad of shape! Right?

[Millhouse]

Football can definitely have some long term effects, but from what I've seen football players for the most part, aren't in too bad of shape when they get old.

'From what I've seen'

Exactly what have you 'seen'?

Are you too lazy or just too ignorant to do some real research on the subject?

This is a prime example of the real problem people have with you on this forum. You either completely ignore friendly suggestions or you blow them off.

And in this case, I'm betting you did the latter because you're afraid you might be proven incorrect.

The irony is that this time around is I made a friendly suggestion, I wasn't even mocking you.

By refusing to look up facts to back up your nonsense, and come off like a 1950s drill sergeant type high school white bread american coach with everything you say, you continue to make yourself look more and more foolish to us, you DO realize this don't you?

Maybe I should just start responding to you the way FatMan does. Maybe everybody on this forum who has tried to be kind and patient with you should.

[Polite24]

What I have seen meaning interviews and such with old time players, and what ESPN and other sports outlets report. A handful of football players do suffer effects from taking hits, but rarely are they ever that extreme.

I know what the hell I'm talking about.

[Millhouse]

What I have seen meaning interviews and such with old time players, and what ESPN and other sports outlets report. A handful of football players do suffer effects from taking hits, but rarely are they ever that extreme.

I know what the hell I'm talking about.

My, my, are we agitated? You need to do more than let television and sports biased programming make up your mind for you. They're only going to show you the 'heroes' that made it luckily (yes, luckily) through an entire lifetime of abuse on the field. Do more research. You'll find many professional football players become dehabilitated at the ends of their careers.

Or don't. Tell me I need to grow thicker skin and prove me right. I don't really care.

[Polite24]

I admitted some football players do experience after effects, but it's not nearly as severe as boxing.

And if you're calling me out for having no proof, then what's your guys proof? I'm going by what I have seen of these old athletes at hall of fame inductions, in interviews, etc. If football players were that damaged after their career there would be much more of an uproar.

[Sergey]

I admitted some football players do experience after effects, but it's not nearly as severe as boxing.

And if you're calling me out for having no proof, then what's your guys proof? I'm going by what I have seen of these old athletes at hall of fame inductions, in interviews, etc. If football players were that damaged after their career there would be much more of an uproar.

Last time I checked there weren't 3 guys just charging at you and trying to stop you from getting a touchdown! Yeah that's alot better than just getting a fight with one guy with boxing gloves on! You failed!

[Polite24]

You take blow after blow to the head, no pads. Boxers have died the night of a fight, multiple times.


Football players have pads.

[Millhouse]

I admitted some football players do experience after effects, but it's not nearly as severe as boxing.

And if you're calling me out for having no proof, then what's your guys proof? I'm going by what I have seen of these old athletes at hall of fame inductions, in interviews, etc. If football players were that damaged after their career there would be much more of an uproar.

I do have proof, I just want you to look it up for yourself. Translation, "I don't want to look it up."

You sound more and more like a typical jock everytime you post, in other words everytime you post you make more of a fool of yourself.