NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas -- They say the first rule of fight club is not to talk about fight club. But what if the fights were going on in your own back yard. And what if your children were involved?The News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters talked to teenagers who started their own local fight club and is uncovering why what they're doing is completely legal.
You'd normally expect to see a fight in a boxing ring or a UFC cage. The News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters began investigating after they received an anonymous tip. That's when they found a true underground fight club. And every kick, every jab thrown was by a kid barely old enough to drive.
They call themselves "Misdemeanor Fights." They're a group of teenagers from New Braunfels that have one objective, to fight.
"Every fighter has their own reason for fighting. I do it for the adrenaline, just for fun," said Matt Swisher, one of the original founders of Misdemeanor Fights. "It's just something I really like to do. Some people like to do it to get their aggression out. It just all depends on the person."
The fight club was started a little over a year ago by Russell Barrett and Matt Swisher. Matt is often in the ring and says getting hurt is the last thing on his mind.
Matt Swisher told us, "I wasn't too worried. I knew once someone got a little hurt, I wasn't going to keep going and completely wreck them up. So, it wasn't that big of a deal."
Russell usually schedules and refs the fights.
"Did you ever worry about the law coming after you or finding out," asked News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Mireya Villarreal.
Russell Barrett answered, "All the fighters that participated had to be over 18. And, you know, we don't have waivers or forms to sign or anything. But everyone's friends. You have to press charges to get somebody in trouble for hurting you."
But Barrett also says they aren't always sure how old the fighters are and don't card them before they get into the ring.
So the News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters contacted the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, a state agency that watches over sports like boxing and mixed martial arts. We found out the most they can do is send Misdemeanor Fights a letter asking them to stop. In some cases they can also fine an organization for operating without a license. But they can't file charges or arrest anyone.
We were also concerned about these kids getting hurt. So, we took our video to a local expert James Leija. Leija is a two-time World Boxing Champion and also licensed by the state to promote mixed-martial arts fights.
"To go outside and to fight in the street and to try these things underground I think it's crazy," stated Leija.
We showed Leija the video Misdemeanor Fights has posted on YouTube. Immediately he was concerned about a number of things.
"They haven't even started yet, but you can see there's no padding on the railing. The flooring is just a piece of canvas or carpet there," pointed out Leija. "I (also) don't think the referee is trained that way. Well, he's not even the referee, he's just someone standing there. Right off the bat, if something happened or somebody was getting hit repeatedly, and was not there mentally, the referee wouldn't know it. No one would know it. They would just keep fighting."
Leija also directed our attention to a dumbbell holding down the mat.
"Someone could have fallen on that weight; either on their head or their spine or anything else," he said.
The Boxing Champion says these kids could be doing some permanent damage to themselves. And he thinks someone should be held accountable.
Leija explained, "When kids have parties, and there's alcohol and police come, they ticket the parents for having kids or serving alcohol to minors. This should be the same thing. The same thing should happen."
The boys admit there have been some injuries to a few fighters; a busted-up eye, some broken knuckles, a bloody nose, bruises, and scratches. We shared Leija's concerns about safety and asked if they'd continue to run the fight club.
"I think it will keep going, even when me and Russell are gone," Matt Swisher told us. "There are a lot of people really into the fight club and they'll keep it going. It's fun and no one gets hurt too bad."
The state says since 2007 they've investigated only one other underground fight club involving Texas teenagers. That organization was asked to stop scheduling fights and it looks like they have. They ask if you know about one to contact TDLR or local police.
We did speak with local law enforcement. They tell us, because most of the fighters over 18 and consenting to the fights, it would be difficult to charge them. But, they also say, if a minor is caught fighting they'd go after the person he's fighting against and the people who own the home for endangering a child.
