The sport of slap boxing/fighting that has recently seen it emerging at the world stage of sports entertainment, has drawn many question marks. With UFC CEO, Dana White, currently making his mark in 2023 with his “Power Slap” television show, uncertainty remains regarding the health of participants in this type of “sport”.
The Power Slap TV show builds on the recent increasing trend of a sport called “slap boxing”, which can only be described as a contest where two opposing ‘fighters’ slap the sh** out of each other. Pardon us for the language, but there was no other viable means to best describe the sport. Ironically, the “Power Slap League” was slated to be launched the week after Dana White and his wife were recorded slapping each other in public at a New Year Eve’s party.
Power Slap introduces a tournament format for its competitors in the form of a “Power Slap League” that determines one final winner. Though there are clear rules, none of the rules seem to truly take the risk of potential brain damage or severe injuries into account. The rules introduce a time limit of 30 seconds to slap the opponent, and clarifies where – and how – someone can be hit on the face. There are three rounds per ‘fight’, and a 10-point scoring system is used in case knockouts or stoppages aren’t achieved. In essence, it is basically a pseudo version of professional boxing, in the form of slapping.
Power Slap is not even the first of its incarnation. One of the most popular promotions that also utilize this form of ‘combat’ is RXF (Real Xtreme Fighting), a Romanian MMA promotion which has formed it own off-brand form of fighting with their “RXF Slap” contests.
White’s incarnation of this form of fighting through Power Slap now reaches a wider range of audience through its exposure to the US audience, which arguably extends to most other countries that often broadcast US television shows.
Despite the increasing popularity of the sport, concerns have been drawn centering around the health of contestants who participate in such fights. Longtime boxing promoter, Lou DiBella, expressed as much on his Twitter account, remarking that Power Slap was more “organized brain damage” than an actual MMA or boxing fight.
With the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) having only sanctioned the sport in October of last year, and the Slap Fighting Championship – promoted by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Logan Paul – also having been launched in 2022, the concept of slap fighting in America is still relatively limited and obscure, but as referenced with other promotions, it is an increasingly growing trend that might grow roots globally and spark a chain effect that will further popularize the sport.
The effects of brain damage are evident in the sport, according to an interview by BBC magazine Science Focus with Matthew Pain, a decades-long researcher on the effects of all forms of human performance in sports.
“As long as you weren’t knocked out, you will be hit again at full power, no matter how injured you already are,” Pain said.
“If you win the fight, you’ll work your way up through the league, fighting again until you win the league or get knocked out. In most sports, if you get a concussion, no matter how innocuous, you will be taken out of the sport for weeks or months.”
It is therefore reasonable to assume that repeated hits – whether to the side of the face or not – without any protective equipment such as headgear, only a mouth guard available and no incorporation of a way to defend oneself, slap fighting or boxing seems generally pointless when it comes to the concept of competing.
There also seems to be some discrepancies when it comes to weight, judging by the various slap fights that can be observed on the internet. Most notably, the final of the RXF Slap competition featured two competitors – Comșa Simion vs Gorczyca Alexandru – who widely contrasted each other in weight and height.
In the video above, the two competitors can be seen engaged in a one-on-one slapping contest for a championship belt, originally scheduled for 30 minutes. There is little to no protection offered or allowed by the two combatants, and both of them accrued either significant damage or injury to their face. It is therefore not unreasonable to conclude that they also suffered brain damage, which carry more severe consequences for their lives and their future.
It is apparent that slap boxing seems entertaining on paper, but carries real-life consequences where the potential side effects of brain trauma carry more weight than any of the slaps that occur in these competitions. It is even worse considering the fact that such things can occur in boxing and sports like MMA, and the effects of potential brain damage seem to be skewed or blatantly ignored in favor of pure entertainment.
As the world continues to evolve, the hope is that all sports, but especially fighting sports, can be drawn into more considerate protocols for its combatants to ensure an athlete’s safety and health, whether we are talking about boxing, slap boxing or something new and weird entirely.
