Trainer: Villain in Hague death is MMA fighters in boxing
Dave Allison: “Maybe sometimes you can but very very rarely, especially in the pro ranks. It’s a disaster that’s waiting to happen.”
Former King of the Cage Canada heavyweight champion Tim Hague earned a 21-13 record in MMA, and also dabbled in professional boxing. Hague won his first professional boxing match, in 2009. During the past two years he went 1-4 in MMA, with all four losses via KO or TKO. Then he returned to boxing, losing the first bout by decision, and the second by KO. He also competed in “Super Boxing” or boxing not with the 10 oz or 12 oz gloves that are typical for heavyweights, but with 4 oz MMA gloves, in a cage; the action is restarted when it hits the ground.
•MMA – August 29, 2015: Vs. Evgeny Erokhin Loss via KO (punch) at 3:05 of Round 1 at League S-70: Russia vs. World in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.
•MMA – December 18, 2015: Vs. Tony Lopez Loss via KO (head kick and punches) at 3:24 of Round 3 at Unified MMA 25 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
•MMA – March 4, 2016: Vs. Tanner Boser Loss via KO (elbows) at 2:30 of Round 2 at Unified MMA 26 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
•MMA – April 15, 2016: Vs. Kalib Starnes Win via TKO (leg kicks) at 0:13 of Round 4 at XFFC 9: Conviction in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada.
•MMA – July 15, 2016: Vs. Michał Andryszak Loss via TKO (head kick and punches) at 0:33 of Round 1 at Absolute Championship Berkut 41 in Sochi, Russia.
•BOXING – September 9, 2016: Vs. Stan Surmacz Ahumadav Loss via Unanimous Decision in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
•BOXING – December 12, 2016: Vs. Mladen Miljas Loss via TKO at 2:58 of Round 1 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
•SUPER BOXING: April 7, 2017: Vs. Jared Kilkenny Loss via TKO at 0:40 or Round 1 in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
•BOXING – June 16, 2107: Vs. Adam Braidwood in an 8-Round contest Loss via KO in Round 2 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada L KO.
In 19 months Hague went 1-7 in combined combat sports, with all seven losses via KO or TKO. Then he boxed again and died two days later of injuries siffered in the ring.
Prominent BC boxing trainer Dave Allison spoke with Troy Landreville for the Langley Times and argued that the death came from a culture where MMA fighters are allowed to compete in boxing. The villain in this scenario,” says Allison is believing the two sports are able to cross over with parity.
The biggest problem here is, is MMA, said Allison. There is a huge dysfunction in combative sports right now, with MMA athletes assuming they can box. They are not training properly and they don’t understand the sport, and have coaches who don’t understand the sport.
Allison stressed that a pure boxer in an MMA fight would likewise be ill trained.
We have a great track record of safety, said Allison. Our organization, COMBSPORT, is being operating, I think we’re going into year No. 9, now, and we’ve never had an accident, an injury… anything. If boxers are properly matched, properly trained, boxing is a very safe sport.
Allison said boxers train equally to not get hit, and in hitting. A well-trained boxer has spent years learning to roll with the punches taking the edge off it.
In MMA, that avoidance is not existent, he said. So when you get an MMA guy who can throw the odd punch, it gives a false impression of what they can do. Sure, they can throw the odd punch but they can’t defend against it, and that’s where the actual technical difference lies.
“My corner bucket is older than the sport of MMA. I’ve been using my corner bucket longer than that sport has existed. The cultures of the two sports are so different. It’s not a one size fits all, and so long as that is being done at the commission level and even at the club level, you are going to see more of this kind of nonsense.
Allison also argued that the match shouldn’t have gone to Round 2.
There are signs that you can see when a fighter doesn’t want to be in the ring, said Allison. Now I’m not saying [Hague] didn’t want to be in the ring the minute he stepped into it. I’m sure he did. He’s a tough guy, he’s a competitor, but once the reality of that fight started to evolve in the ring… he had no answer for what Braidwood was doing. No answer. He went down enough that at the end of that round, he should have been retired.
It’s not Braidwood, it’s not the referee, it’s the culture that seems to be developing that you can somehow merge these two sports. Maybe sometimes you can but very very rarely, especially in the pro ranks. It’s a disaster that’s waiting to happen.
