The year of 2023 has seen plenty of shocks and upsets so far when it comes to boxing, but it has also seen the rise of plenty of new ideas in the making that may affect the entire future of combat sports, in particular through new combat sports organization Team Combat League (TCL). Main-eventing for this new upstart organization in boxing was Heavyweight contender Michael Hunter, who has taken a brief respite from his professional days to partake in a newfound form of (boxing) combat.

Launched since September of 2022, TCL has only just started organizing events ― in March ― after acquiring the necessary amount of fighters to officially be able organize their fights; with the first event having officially launched on March 29th. The tournament spans for a period of 3 months (or 12 weeks) and will feature eight teams going up against each other in those weeks. The top four teams will eventually meet in a semi-final contest which will set up the two teams that will meet in the final; aptly called the TCL Mega Brawl.

The TCL introduces a format where only two fighters enter the ring with each fighter representing one of two teams. The contests firmly adhere to standard boxing rules and the regular 3 minutes are set per round, With a total of 18 rounds set to be fought between two teams, the team concept comes into play after one finished round whereafter each fighter will be switched with another member of the team.

The TCL states their rules for scoring as follows:

• a unanimous decision by the winner results in 3 points for their team
• a split-decision by the winner results in 2 points for their team
• a loss by the loser results in 1 point for their team
• a knockout/stoppage by the winner can result in a maximum of 6 points for their team
• additional points are awarded to the team in the case of knockdowns, regardless of the final result

TCL is further equipped with official judges, referees and other officials to fully legitimize the sport. As it is in essence its own form of combat, fights held in this league are not counted onto a fighter’s professional record in other combat sports, but do count towards a new TCL professional combat record as a consequence, further

18 fighters are accommodated into one team ― with each team meant to represent a city in the USA, similar to the NBA. In another case that is similar to the NBA, the league sees each team face another team twice.

The most intriguing part of this concept is perhaps the aspect of ‘team combat’ which makes it vital for each team member to produce a winning performance if the team will end up losing. With each match set for a total of 18 rounds, the winner between two competing teams is determined by the one that has the most points, meaning that wins are made even more vital per round if they end within the distance, and individual losses can be debilitating to a team.

Though not the first competing professional boxer at the event, Michael Hunter (20-2-1, 14 KO’s) noticeably drew the most attention due to is his own professional career when he competed for the first time at the TCL on April 27th in a unanimous decision win over fellow American Heavyweight Norman Neely (14-1, 9 KO’s) and Hasim Rahman Jr., the son of Heavyweight boxing legend Hasim Rahman and coincidentally Hunter’s former coach.

With Hunter being the son of a professional boxer ― Michael “The Bounty” Hunter, himself ― Rahman and Hunter held a slugfest of a round that saw Hunter net a decisive victory with scorecards of 10-9 thrice painting him as the clear winner by UD.

Hasim Rahman Jr. (12-2, 6 KO’s), in comparison, did performed exactly the opposite of Hunter with both of his matches ending in decision losses, only adding to the losing streak he is on which saw him losing in his last two professional boxing bouts against former NFL star Greg Hardy (2-0, 1 KO’s), and son of the late boxing Heavyweight legend Tommy Morrrison, Kenzie Morrison (20-1-2, 18 KO’s).

Despite Michael Hunter’s professional boxing career seeming to have been put on hiatus ― after having a rather promising career as both a Cruiserweight and Heavyweight, the American fighter can use his experience with the TCL as a viable stepping stone when he makes his return to the ranks of professional boxing. He is set to return to the ring as soon as May 4th against American former amateur prospect Andres Montoya who is yet to make his debut as a professional boxer, but can at least count himself a TCL professional upcoming Thursday.

Overall, the competition has the makings of potentially standing up to other combat sports rivals including MMA, but it will still take a while for the sport to get up to the same standards as other combat forms given the concept has just been introduced. It does however, show an entertaining deviation from boxing through its ‘team combat’ concept, but will currently have to contend with needing to build its brand and name further to fully entrench itself as a legitimate combat sport.

So far, the competition is filled with professional boxers who are decent or competent, but have yet to truly make a mark in their original sports. The TCL provides many of them with a way to stay busy and boost up their profiles and names, but the sport has not yet reached a point where there can be a genuine uptick in performance or skill that can translate to professional boxing.

In essence, TLC looks very much a stepping stone for professional boxers or a way to keep paying the bills, but it is a promising venture when it comes to combat sports, and it has already seemed to have been able to rail in a number of good professional boxers. In time, the TLC may deliver on its team franchise format to become one of the most relevant sports of this era, but for now it will continue to entertain and grow where needed to sustain itself for as long as possible before it can eventually find its way within the combat sports industry.