Please help with my novel

[Authork.cave]

Hello there,

My apologies in advance if this is not the right place for my questions.

I am an author writing a fictional novel about an illegal fight ring in Sydney run by a notorious crime syndicate. The law turns a blind eye on the premise that the fight club is helping to keep violence off the streets - which, from my research I believe this is currently happening in America.

The rules are.. No strikes to the groin or back of the head. Fighters must be within 5kg of each other. Winner is by knock out or submission only and fighters agree to no violence outside the ring. Conflicts must be sorted within the fight club... this way it keeps the cops at bay and the crime syndicate has more control over the streets.

So this brings me to my questions and any help or information you could provide would be very much appreciated.

1. Has anyone here ever had any experience or known anything about an illegal fighting operation and I'm not really speaking of the backyard or street corner.

2. How would the betting on fighters work? and how do the fighters get paid?

3. Can anyone turn up and enter a fight? or is there an process by which they would choose the fighters? How do they choose who fights who or is this random?

4. When is weigh in and who does this?

5. What are some dirty things fighters do to win? Any possible way of fudging the scales? Hiding blades and nails in your fists? Or are the fighters hands inspected before the fight?

As I said, this might be the wrong place to get this information and if so I apologise. If you were to read a fictional story about fighting what are some of the scenes or scenario's you would expect or like to see happen.. fictional of course.

Thanks in advance.

[Redd Foxx]

Hello there,

My apologies in advance if this is not the right place for my questions.

I am an author writing a fictional novel about an illegal fight ring in Sydney run by a notorious crime syndicate. The law turns a blind eye on the premise that the fight club is helping to keep violence off the streets - which, from my research I believe this is currently happening in America.

The rules are.. No strikes to the groin or back of the head. Fighters must be within 5kg of each other. Winner is by knock out or submission only and fighters agree to no violence outside the ring. Conflicts must be sorted within the fight club... this way it keeps the cops at bay and the crime syndicate has more control over the streets.

So this brings me to my questions and any help or information you could provide would be very much appreciated.

1. Has anyone here ever had any experience or known anything about an illegal fighting operation and I'm not really speaking of the backyard or street corner.

2. How would the betting on fighters work? and how do the fighters get paid?

3. Can anyone turn up and enter a fight? or is there an process by which they would choose the fighters? How do they choose who fights who or is this random?

4. When is weigh in and who does this?

5. What are some dirty things fighters do to win? Any possible way of fudging the scales? Hiding blades and nails in your fists? Or are the fighters hands inspected before the fight?

As I said, this might be the wrong place to get this information and if so I apologise. If you were to read a fictional story about fighting what are some of the scenes or scenario's you would expect or like to see happen.. fictional of course.

Thanks in advance.

I hope you get some helpful replies. Food for thought; an illegal ring isn't likely to have formalities like weigh-ins. Getting enough guys to fight (guys who people will actually put money on and make competitive fights) is a problem, nevermind making sure they make weight.

Common illegal tactics are headbuts, rabbit punches behind the head, low-blows, but those might not be ***y enough for a novel so you could consider the more exotic cheats like plaster in the gloves (starts as a powder and hardens as the hand sits in the wrap), eye irritant on the outside of the glove, etc.

If the weigh-in is critical to your story and you don't want to dump it, it would likely happen the day of the fight, in a small, underground org (though pro fights are the day before). An illegal operation would likely have the promoter/organizer perform the weigh-in, or possibly an on-site medic. Like I say though, weigh ins for illegal fights might hurt your credibility if boxing fans are to read the story. It would be more a matter of eyeballing two guys who look like they could give each other a fight.

[.:: JSFD26 ::.]

I feel like the answers to some of these questions are entirely up to you and your imagination.

As far as #4 goes, the weigh ins are the day before the fight and are overseen by the commission.

There are some answers for #5 but I'm on my phone and too lazy to type out.

[*TonyMontana*]

Hello there,

My apologies in advance if this is not the right place for my questions.

I am an author writing a fictional novel about an illegal fight ring in Sydney run by a notorious crime syndicate. The law turns a blind eye on the premise that the fight club is helping to keep violence off the streets - which, from my research I believe this is currently happening in America.

The rules are.. No strikes to the groin or back of the head. Fighters must be within 5kg of each other. Winner is by knock out or submission only and fighters agree to no violence outside the ring. Conflicts must be sorted within the fight club... this way it keeps the cops at bay and the crime syndicate has more control over the streets.

So this brings me to my questions and any help or information you could provide would be very much appreciated.

1. Has anyone here ever had any experience or known anything about an illegal fighting operation and I'm not really speaking of the backyard or street corner.

2. How would the betting on fighters work? and how do the fighters get paid?

3. Can anyone turn up and enter a fight? or is there an process by which they would choose the fighters? How do they choose who fights who or is this random?

4. When is weigh in and who does this?

5. What are some dirty things fighters do to win? Any possible way of fudging the scales? Hiding blades and nails in your fists? Or are the fighters hands inspected before the fight?

As I said, this might be the wrong place to get this information and if so I apologise. If you were to read a fictional story about fighting what are some of the scenes or scenario's you would expect or like to see happen.. fictional of course.

Thanks in advance.

I'm so gunna steal this haha

[Authork.cave]

I hope you get some helpful replies. Food for thought; an illegal ring isn't likely to have formalities like weigh-ins. Getting enough guys to fight (guys who people will actually put money on and make competitive fights) is a problem, nevermind making sure they make weight.

Common illegal tactics are headbuts, rabbit punches behind the head, low-blows, but those might not be ***y enough for a novel so you could consider the more exotic cheats like plaster in the gloves (starts as a powder and hardens as the hand sits in the wrap), eye irritant on the outside of the glove, etc.

If the weigh-in is critical to your story and you don't want to dump it, it would likely happen the day of the fight, in a small, underground org (though pro fights are the day before). An illegal operation would likely have the promoter/organizer perform the weigh-in, or possibly an on-site medic. Like I say though, weigh ins for illegal fights might hurt your credibility if boxing fans are to read the story. It would be more a matter of eyeballing two guys who look like they could give each other a fight.

Thanks for your reply

That’s wonderful, the fact I don’t have to do weigh-ins. This is what I was worried about.. that an illegal operation would still have certain ‘rules’ to be credible.

Great - my weigh-in theory is out – one less thing I have to worry about.

The plaster and eye irritant is a great suggestion, thank you.

Would you think any fighter could just turn up and participate if they wanted to? Would you expect there to be a application process of sorts?

I would like a lot of money to be involved. Fighting is not essential to the story it’s a mobster novel and because I don’t want the crime syndicate to operate in drugs… I’ve chosen fighting and strip clubs as where they make their money... and weapons although I don't speak much of this.

All I need is enough information to make it believable.

[*TonyMontana*]

Thanks for your reply

That’s wonderful, the fact I don’t have to do weigh-ins. This is what I was worried about.. that an illegal operation would still have certain ‘rules’ to be credible.

Great - my weigh-in theory is out – one less thing I have to worry about.

The plaster and eye irritant is a great suggestion, thank you.

Would you think any fighter could just turn up and participate if they wanted to? Would you expect there to be a application process of sorts?

I would like a lot of money to be involved. Fighting is not essential to the story it’s a mobster novel and because I don’t want the crime syndicate to operate in drugs… I’ve chosen fighting and strip clubs as where they make their money... and weapons although I don't speak much of this.

All I need is enough information to make it believable.

Application Process for underground fighting

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Hello there,

My apologies in advance if this is not the right place for my questions.

I am an author writing a fictional novel about an illegal fight ring in Sydney run by a notorious crime syndicate. The law turns a blind eye on the premise that the fight club is helping to keep violence off the streets - which, from my research I believe this is currently happening in America.

The rules are.. No strikes to the groin or back of the head. Fighters must be within 5kg of each other. Winner is by knock out or submission only and fighters agree to no violence outside the ring. Conflicts must be sorted within the fight club... this way it keeps the cops at bay and the crime syndicate has more control over the streets.

So this brings me to my questions and any help or information you could provide would be very much appreciated.

1. Has anyone here ever had any experience or known anything about an illegal fighting operation and I'm not really speaking of the backyard or street corner.

2. How would the betting on fighters work? and how do the fighters get paid?

3. Can anyone turn up and enter a fight? or is there an process by which they would choose the fighters? How do they choose who fights who or is this random?

4. When is weigh in and who does this?

5. What are some dirty things fighters do to win? Any possible way of fudging the scales? Hiding blades and nails in your fists? Or are the fighters hands inspected before the fight?

As I said, this might be the wrong place to get this information and if so I apologise. If you were to read a fictional story about fighting what are some of the scenes or scenario's you would expect or like to see happen.. fictional of course.

Thanks in advance.

I'd have it be part of something bigger, like rich guys getting together and every now and then, they get a wild hair, offer random dudes money to fight(picked totally off the street in bad areas) and let them go at it- off the cuff, one night, spontaneous and then these guys never meet again type of thing. Make it all about the rich guys' entertainment, but your protagonist gets the better of them somehow. I mean, in the end, it's fiction. You can really do what you want. I've written four books. They sell regardless. Ha.

[*TonyMontana*]

I'd have it be part of something bigger, like rich guys getting together and every now and then, they get a wild hair, offer random dudes money to fight(picked totally off the street in bad areas) and let them go at it- off the cuff, one night, spontaneous and then these guys never meet again type of thing. Make it all about the rich guys' entertainment, but your protagonist gets the better of them somehow. I mean, in the end, it's fiction. You can really do what you want. I've written four books. They sell regardless. Ha.

You wrote four books?

[Eff Pandas]

I would like a lot of money to be involved. Fighting is not essential to the story it’s a mobster novel and because I don’t want the crime syndicate to operate in drugs… I’ve chosen fighting and strip clubs as where they make their money... and weapons although I don't speak much of this.
.

I only worked for an illegal fighting operation during the summer of my senior year so I don't have much experience with it, but I was involved in the poker world for quite awhile & there are many sketchy activities there.

I remember hearing of a illegal high roller poker game in some country that got busted that had the guys involved wire money into a private account for the guy running the game before the game in case the police busted it & took all the money, as they tend to do. He'd square up with the card players in the game after each event. Could have that be the way the attendees of said illegal fights make bets to if you don't wanna go with the standard guy holding a pad of paper writing down names & holding stacks of cash angle most movies use.

Would you think any fighter could just turn up and participate if they wanted to? Would you expect there to be a application process of sorts?

I think ideally you'd wanna recruit fighters yourself for this sorta fighting. Maybe even have a mobster gym or two that the recruited fighters train at. The more people who knew about something like this the more apt it'd be to be found out by the po po & shutdown + get people arrested.

[Butt stuff]

Just watch "Snatch" bro. It's a british documentary on underground fighting and big fat ***** weddings.