‘Our boys are a match for anyone’ (From Harrow Times)

‘Our boys are a match for anyone’

3:16pm Thursday 22nd November 2007 in News By Tristan Kirk

AN ultimate fighting sport is hoping to lose its brutal image and move into the mainstream, starting with a showpiece event in Wembley.

Cage Rage fighters will be battling at Wembley Arena on Saturday, December 1, as the sport prepares to bid to be an official Olympic event.

Andy Greer, a Cage Rage promoter who is pioneering the Olympic bid, believes there are a lot of misconceptions about the sport.

He said: "There are a lot of people around who don't understand the sport. I'm still surprised quite regularly by people who say there are no rules."

Mr Greer is confident that should a bid be accepted in time for the 2012 Olympics in London, Britain will have a good chance of winning some medals.

He said: "Here is a sport in which we excel. Cage Rage is acquiring fans across the world, and many foreign fighters are coming to the UK to train alongside our top talent.

"Our boys are a match for anyone."

Organisers are introducing random drug testing from next month and have taken steps to regulate itself to appeal to the Olympics organisers.

If the bid fails, they plan to exhibit the sport in the summer of 2012 in Wembley to show it is safer as people think.

Gary Shaw, a former boxing promoter who is backing the Cage Rage Championships, said: "These are highly-skilled athletes. The fact that it is held inside a cage should not detract from the skill level that's needed.

"My background is in boxing and in a lot of ways this is safer than boxing. The matches are stopped a lot quicker, so nobody stands around for ten or 12 rounds getting beat up."

Cage Rage Championships, which is promoting the Wembley event, promises "11 fistful fights", with combatants from around the world coming to compete.

For more information and tickets for the event on December 1, visit www.cagerage.tv