Backyard fight club events linked to gangs and involving "convicts" have exploded in popularity. But are they safe? And are they legal? Indira Stewart reports.
When UFC fighter Dan Hooker held a King of the Streets tournament in his own backyard in August, calling for "convicts only" (i.e. those with criminal convictions) to apply, and offering $50,000 of prize money, he attracted some notable fighters including Jon ‘Fight Dog’ Te Rito, a senior Mongrel Mob Member who was on bail and wore an ankle monitor bracelet during his fights.
'It's healing' - Watch Backyard Gang Wars on TVNZ+.
It was TikTok and YouTube gold. Elderly neighbours strained to see over the fence as the crowd (mainly men and almost uniformly wearing black) hyped up the fighters, who made the most of the space, slipping and sliding between the trees, each fight lasting just 60 seconds.
Views spiked and circulated, drawing criticism from some and raising questions as to whether these fights are safe, sanctioned or legal.
The issue was in the news again this week with police cancelling a local charity boxing event in Wairoa over concerns it could cause tension between rival gang members. But those who organise and partake in the events swear by their force for good.
'It's healing' - Watch Backyard Gang Wars on TVNZ+.
Over the past year, Te Rito (aka Fight Dog) organised two of his own boxing events, called Fight 4 Light, which hosted rival gang members. The events, put together with the support of professional boxer Nik Charalampous, involved official referees, health and safety checks, and had local Māori wardens present. Police provided low-level monitoring support.
Minister Mark Mitchell, whose portfolios include both Police and Sport and Regulation, told 1News: “If they’re bringing expertise in, if they’re introducing rules, if they’ve got proper medical support there, then that’s a positive thing without doubt.
“It sounds to me like they’re trying to embrace the regulation by engaging with government agencies to make sure they’re being compliant. So, yeah, I think that’s a good thing.
“But I just think there’s an overall concern around, once you start these backyard sort of fights, what is the level of safety? What is the level of regulation, what are the values? How are they being organised? Who’s involved?”
Keeping it in the ring
Gang-affiliated fight clubs are not new but they’ve been on the rise since 2017, after a Northland event called King of the Ring brought rival gang members together in an effort to ease inter-gang tensions.
“There was a lot of gang killings up here, in the north, and the whole idea was for us to come together. We went to the hui and they couldn't come up with an idea for how to bring solidarity,” said Herbert Rata, a senior Head Hunters member.
“So I just came up with an idea and said, how about we all have a fight night and keep it in the ring? And that became the name of that fight night: Keep it in the Ring.
NZ First Deputy Leader Shane Jones condemned the event at that time calling it a “bogus boxing event”
“That event will not be taking place after the next election unless the cops agree because it’ll be covered by reformed legislation,” he told Newshub.
'What if something kicks off here?'
Since then, despite the change of government, Rata has continued to hold multiple backyard fight club events known as Takihiwai Backyard Wars, with many other organisers following suit. “I wanted to keep the kaupapa going,” said Rata who hosts dozens of members from rival gangs in his backyard dojo.
“I'm not gonna lie. You know, I’ve been doing it for a while and sometimes think, imagine if something kicks off here? But, you know, we always have a karakia and we have a powhiri. We go around and hongi every single one of them. It’s such a really good buzz when you come to the welcome. And then, you know, we're into it.”
"I thought 'bad' was what we needed to be"
In our TVNZ+ story, Rata and Te Rito share shed light on the rehabilitation journeys of participating fighters, including their own. They admit to years of battling drug addiction and share the details of their serious criminal convictions. For them, fitness training and combat sports are powerful tools to help them turn their lives around.
“It's not just about fighting. It's about life,” said Te Rito. “When life gets thrown at you, sometimes you don't know how to take it front on. So you gotta slip sometimes, and you have to bob and weave. What does that look like in a different sort of context? Your bob and weave could be like asking for help over there, or asking for help over here. Sometimes you just got to keep your guard up until the storm blows over.”
“I thought 'bad' was what we needed to be. So that's what I was,” said Te Rito. “This is why I'm in a race to break the cycles that I've created.”
Both Rata and Te Rito say they never thought they’d see rival gang members in a room together without conflict.
“We do it in jail you know, because we have to live with each other in jail,” said Te Rito.
“We’re roomed up together, so I don't see why we can't show up to something like this that’s kaupapa driven,” said Rata.
“There is gang banter being thrown about, but it's not taken the way that it would usually be taken in different contexts and different settings,” said Te Rito. “It's actually quite empowering to be able to stand with each other, throw banter at each other, and still applause at the end of it. It's healing.”
But how is it legal?
Hooker’s backyard King of the Streets tournaments (like the one with the $50,000 prize) have drawn criticism from officials who say the events manage to evade the current Boxing and Wrestling Act by including mixed martial arts (MMA).
Under the Act, most boxing and wrestling events require a police permit. But the nearly 50-year-old law does not provide for MMA, once a niche sport and now a global billion-dollar industry.
Fight club events include MMA. That means they can be approved by several independent MMA organisations in New Zealand because the sport is not regulated under the current law.
Minister Mitchell said the law affecting these kinds of events was being reviewed. He said he was not against combat sports, which could be a healthy outlet as long as they were in a regulated space.
“There's a place for boxing gyms and combat sports for anyone that has got energy that they need to release. As long as it's done in a controlled and positive way with a set of values and the right people around it, then that can be that can be really positive,” he said.
“The good news is that we're doing work on the legislation now to make sure that combat sports that are run and held in New Zealand are as safe as possible.”
Because, as Mitchell puts it: “These events are not going away.”
'It's healing' - Watch Backyard Gang Wars on TVNZ+.
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