- A boxing club in Georgia should be shut down, said Hall of Fame promoter and longtime TV exec Lou DiBella.
- DiBella was reacting to training footage that showed uncommon, "disgusting" violence.
The world of boxing went apoplectic this week as leaked training footage from what appears to be Mustafa's gym in Decatur, Georgia, shows extreme violence from an aggressor, and a teammate seemingly beaten unconscious.
The purpose of sparring is to rehearse punch routines, improve flaws in one's arsenal, and to mimic the combat style of opponents that their training partner is about to face.
Sometimes sparring can be light, other times it can be hard. The type of sparring is typically agreed upon before the fighters enter the ring.
However, as research suggests brain injuries can often take place in sparring, it is important fighters dial it back and not attack training partners with the venom one would in a pro fight. A sparring partner is a teammate, rather than an opponent.
That sentiment, though, appeared lost in a clip that generated significant backlash from the boxing industry.
The identities of the fighters in the footage are unknown, but illegal shots were thrown and those surrounding the ring were slow to stop the beatdown.
'Everyone involved should be banned,' a sports broadcaster said
"Mustafa's boxing gym … should be shut down immediately," New York boxing promoter Lou DiBella tweeted. "This is a punk-ass, dangerous disgrace. This is an abomination."
Combat sports lawyer Erik Magraken, meanwhile, said on Twitter: "This is grotesque. Serial brain trauma as part of 'practice'. A beating way beyond what would be allowed in an actual bout."
A former world champion boxer Jessie Vargas also said on social media that the clip is "absolutely terrible," while Ishe Smith, another former elite fighter, called it "fucking horrible" and "a shit job."
Watch the footage right here:
—Fight Haven (@FightHaven) January 10, 2023
Prominent British boxer Sunny Edwards replied to the clip above to say it's "disgusting."
Sports broadcaster Ade Oladipo tweeted: "I don't care about the circumstances around this spar. Everybody involved should be banned from the sport. This is fucking disgraceful."
Chicago-based boxing manager Rick Ramos called the attacker a "scumbag" and said, "Everyone involved should have jumped in that ring."
Mustafa's gym has not responded to Insider's request for comment regarding the footage and the backlash it has received.