Prize Fights

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Prize Fights involve participants exchanging blows with their fists, hands or feet for prize money or a purse. Prizefighting was criminalized in Canada in 1881, but exemptions were later made for amateur and commission-sanctioned professional boxing events and, in 2013, for sports such as mixed martial arts. Section 83 of the Criminal Code contains provisions to regulate prize fights, which states that participants, promoters, and anyone involved in an illegal bout can face charges. These charges are treated as summary convictions.

What are Prize Fights?

Prize fights are any organized events where two people exchange blows with their fists, hands or feet until one of them is knocked out or declared a winner. These matches are organized by promoters with an admission generally charged for spectators. In 2013, the meaning of prize fight was expanded to include mixed martial arts.

Section 83 of the Criminal Code states that three groups of people could be charged in relation to a prize fight. They are:

the men or women who are fighting;
those who promote, encourage or advise on how to host such an event; and
anyone who attends the prize fight as an aid, second, surgeon, umpire, backer or reporter.

The legislation lists four examples of what does not constitute a prize fight. They can be summarized as:

A contest between amateur athletes if the sport is recognized by the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee.
A contest between amateur athletes if the sport has been designated by the province's lieutenant governor in council or someone designated by that office.
A contest between amateur athletes if the sport has received permission by the province's lieutenant governor in council or someone designated by that office.
A boxing contest or mixed martial arts contest under the authority of an athletic board, commission or similar body.

The History of Prize Fighting in Canada

Prize fighting was criminalized by statute in Canada in 1881, with no forms exempted. Lawmakers were not only concerned about the participants’ well-being but also feared these events would spur gambling and cause disruptions in neighbourhoods where they were held. By the early 1930s, Parliament carved out an exemption for amateur and commission-sanctioned professional boxing events. In 2013, that was expanded to include sports such as mixed martial arts (MMA).

According to speaking notes from an NDP MP that year, the perceived brutality of MMA was being overstated.

“It is worth noting that they pose far fewer risks for practitioners than other popular sports such as hockey and boxing. In fact, many other entirely legitimate sports result in far more serious injuries than do mixed martial arts and other combative sports,” she stated. “Studies have shown that serious head injuries occur less often in mixed martial arts than they do in hockey, for instance.’

The Penalty for Prize Fighting

The offence of being engaged in or connected to a prize fight is treated as a summary convictionUsed for lesser offences. According to s.787 (1) of the Code, the maximum penalty for a summary conviction is a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment of not more than two years less a day, or both.