By Sarah Klein
WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is modernizing the province’s Boxing Act to update it to reflect prize fighting in the country.
The proposed amendments would see the Manitoba Combative Sports Commission regulate all professional combative sport matches in the province including mixed martial arts. Currently all professional combative sports are defined as a form of boxing.
“These changes would support Manitoba’s efforts to tap into the ever-growing popularity of these sports and bring more professional events to the province,” said Tourism, Culture, Heritage, Sport and Consumer Protection Minister Ron Lemieux.
Other changes include renaming the Boxing Act to the combative sports act, which would reflect similar changes made to section 83 of the Criminal Code.