Combat Sports Law

Update June 16, 2018 – As we are nearing the one year anniversary of this bout I decided to follow up with the NAC to see if they finally followed through on the ‘health and safety’ study they were supposedly going to conduct on Maywather and McGregor’s 8 oz gloves.  They have yet to do any such study.  Here is a screenshot confirming they still have no ‘responsive records’ to this request

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Update October 4, 2017 – I made a Public Record’s request for the ‘heath and safety’ data generated by the NAC’s intended study following this bout.  Perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly the NAC have conducted no such study as is evidence by the below reply received today.

What they have done is update their website to reflect just what a financial success the bout was.

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Today the Nevada Athletic Commission were persuaded to deviate from a mandatory boxing safety rule.  They approved 8 oz gloves to be used for the upcoming Conor McGregor / Floyd Mayweather boxing bout despite their regulations requiring 10 oz gloves to be used in the weight-class. 

This bout is controversial from the get go.  Mayweather is regarded as one of the greatest boxer’s of this generation with a 49-0 record.  McGregor has never boxed professionally.

The NAC has previously noted that their rule with respect to glove sizes is a safety rule and they would only consider the request to use lighter gloves with “health and safety of the fighters being the number-one priority“.

So did they hear medical evidence from witnesses addressing the safety of the rule change?  No.

Did they mention and debate the Association of Ringside Physicians’ warning not to approve this change absent “scientific evidence” of the safety of this rule deviation?  No.

Were they persuaded that it is a bad idea after hearing that Mayweather used 8 oz gloves for the majority of his career while McGregor has been training for this, his professional boxing debut, with the expectation that 10 oz gloves would be used? No.

Instead they approved the request in one of the more baffling regulatory hearings I can recall.

Despite the parties calling no medical evidence in support of their request the NAC approved it but with a peculiar condition.   In addressing the request Chairman Anthony Marnell stipulated to the fighters that “All gloves, all samples that are provided, regardless if they are selected for the bout or not, are turned over as property of the Nevada Athletic Commission post fight.“

Some exchanges then took place between Marnell and the parties where it was suggested that the gloves would be returned but the formal order of the commission made no such promise.  Instead it was ordered that 8oz gloves could be used but

“the gloves, both the alternates as well as the the originals will be submitted to the Executive Director after the fight”

The reason? The NAC addressed this as well noting “the commission will…proceed with the review of conducting a study and review of glove size and whether the size of gloves used makes a difference as to our responsibility of health and safety.”

The NAC’s official reason for deviating from a safety rule is that they plan on studying the issue after the bout.  Not before. The NAC were told in a report back in 2006 that they lacked science in their glove size designations and were directed to conduct “a scientific study on glove size and whether the size of gloves used makes a difference.”.  Its been 11 years.  It is baffling why they now need McGregor’s and Mayweather’s gloves as “property” to get this study underway

In short it appears the NAC deviated from a safety rule with no evidence in exchange for valuable sports memorabilia becoming property of the State.