Sometimes old school fight fans are resistant to change. Thirty years ago, the sight of a professional female fighter was considered a novelty, perhaps a passing fad. That has sure changed, as thousands of women, like their male counterparts, have claimed world championship honors since the 1990s. A new concept in boxing that hasn’t yet been fully embraced, but which is catching on is Team Combat League (TCL), which features male and female fighters competing in one-round contests as part of a team format. The winner is decided by points earned through overall team performance. TCL made its debut in Connecticut two years ago at Mohegan Sun Casino and it kicks off season 3 in the Nutmeg State today (Friday, April 4th), this time at Foxwoods Resort Casino. 

 

Two veteran referees, who have been officiating traditional boxing matches for decades, don’t see a problem with a team format featuring one-round fights. 

 

Connecticut-based referee Johnny Callas, who will be working the team event at Foxwoods’ Rainmaker Expo Center, said of TCL, “I’m a boxing purist. However, I appreciate anyone who is trying to add entertainment value to our great sport and/or widen the audience without bastardizing boxing.” He added, “I think TCL checks all those boxes and is an entertaining concept to a younger and varied audience. I think attempting to take the individual sport of boxing and presenting it in team format is incredibly creative and entertaining. I appreciate any attempt to grow our sport as long as it does not cheapen it.” 

 

Callas worked about 100 of the one-round matches in 2023 over multiple nights when TCL first came to Connecticut, so he can attest to its entertainment value.  “The concept that one round of all out TCL is like three rounds condensed, or the last round of a championship fight, is a great one and very real,” said Callas, “Especially when you have two skilled boxers who want to win that round as if it is a championship fight rolled into one round.”

 

He added, “When this is the case it is beyond entertaining and exciting Then add the rapid succession of one round right after another with match-ups changing round by round, it can be exhilarating for the audience.” 

 

One ex-fighter told this reporter he’s not a fan of a team format, likening to the recent trend of bouts between YouTube personalities. “None of it appeals to me at all,” he said. “It’s just gimmicks.” 

 

However, the difference between YouTuber versus YouTuber match-ups and the team combat scenario is the fact that TCL features legitimate boxers, but in condensed (one-round) bouts. 

 

New York-based referee Arthur Mercante Jr. - son of International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Arthur Mercante Sr, who officiated Ali-Frazier I and numerous other high-profile bouts - will also be working the TCL bouts.  “I like this Team Combat League,” said Mercante. “It just keeps the action going, one three-minute round. In the past, if there were two knockdowns in that one round you automatically lose the fight, and the winner moves on in the tournament. But I’m not sure they’re still going by that rule.”

 

He added, “Whoever started this was brilliant. I’m a boxing referee. I’m a fan too, and now it’s at Foxwoods, which is another great venue. It seems like they’re moving all over. They had it in Boston.” 

 

Friday’s fight night is the first of weekly action between TCL’s region-based teams, and fans will see the Boston Butchers take on NYC Attitude. There will be 24 bouts with 16 fighters on each team’s roster. TCL’s coaches will decide which fighters from the “Launch Rounds (1-8)” and “Middle Rounds (9-16)” will return for the decisive “Money Rounds (17-24).” The winners of the Boston Butchers versus NYC Attitude match-up will be determined by overall team performance scored on an individual round, 10-point must system by State Athletic Commission judges. This night of fights, as well as subsequent team match-ups, will be available to watch on Dr. Phil’s Merit TV. 

 

Mercante knows there may be critics out there, but he believes it will be embraced with time.  “It’s going to have its pros ands cons, like anything,” he said. “Some people are gonna like it. Some people aren’t going to like it. I think it’s a great idea, that one round.” He added, “They truly fight hard, and you see some great fights cause these kids wanna fight hard to stay in the tournament and win.” 

 

New England boxing promoter Jimmy Burchfield is the general manager of the Boston Butchers and a few of his fighters help comprise the team roster, including Stevie Jane Coleman, who went 5-2 with the Butchers last year, Steven Sumpter, a Lawrence, MA-based light heavyweight, and lightweight Elijah Peixoto, who will be competing in his second season as a Butcher. 

 

“The chemistry is great amongst the team,” said Burchfield. “They say steel sharpens steel, and I see everyone pushing their teammates to be the best fighters they can be. I think we’re going to go all the way this year.”

 

It’s the Boston Butchers versus NYC Attitude on Friday April 4th. That will be followed by various team match-ups in Tennessee, Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, and on April 18th in Houston, a show which will see two different match-ups, including the Butchers facing off against the Dallas Enforcers. Bouts continue through April into July, and in mid-July quarterfinal match-ups will begin, and a team champion will eventually be crowned in late August. 

 

Kevin Cassidy is the CEO Team Combat Entertainment, and its president is New York-based Dewey Cooper. 

 

Callas worked the first season with referees Harvey Dock, Ricky Gonzalez and Mercante. “We all had a blast, but all typically would do our set of five bouts between ten boxers and we would be huffing and puffing after them,” said Callas, who runs the Charter Oak Boxing Academy in Hartford. “When the night was over, which would sometimes go on for three plus hours and four teams we would be wiped out and relieved that we finished and got out unscathed and injury free.”

 

Callas was honored as the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame Official of the Year in 2023. It was a “huge honor,” said Callas, adding, “In accepting my award I called it my ‘Purple Heart’ for surviving TCL.”

 

Callas is not of the belief that the team format cheapens or degrades the great sport of boxing.  “I would be the first to say that [if it were the case],” he said. “I think it is simply an attempt to transition in some way to a team format to add entertainment value.” 

 

To buy tickets, and for more information about Friday’s event, in which doors open at 8 p.m. and the action commences at 9 p.m., log onto www.teamcombatleague.com