Former boxing world champion Anthony Mundine has doubled down with his promotion of a bare-knuckle fighting brand, insisting the sport is safer than traditional boxing.
Mundine's World Bare Knuckle Fighting is set to be launched in September at a venue in Brisbane, with the event to be streamed online.
The debut of Mundine's promotion comes after the US-based Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship was blocked from hosting an event in June by the Western Australian government.
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The WA sports minister gave the green light for a proposed fight night at Perth's RAC Arena in July before the state's combat sports authority stepped in and denied the application.
Mundine Promotions has applied to hold an event in Sydney, where NSW Premier Chris Minns has worked with the UFC to stage events in the harbour city.
However, the submission is still under consideration, leading Mundine and his business partners to take their venture to Queensland, where there's no regulatory combat authority.
Asked by Karl Stefanovic on Nine's Today if bare-knuckling boxing was safe, Mundine replied: "Definitely, bro."
"If you look at the stats, man, it's probably safer than [traditional] boxing. I mean, because, the weight cuts aren't as bad and … [they are] a lot healthier, and the sponge on the brain is way better."
Decision-makers in Western Australia stood by advice from the Australian Medical Association's WA state president, Michael Page, who called bare-knuckle fighting the "human equivalent of dog fighting".
Mundine disputes the claims that bare-knuckle fighting leads to more head injuries.
He says his World Bare Knuckle Fighting events will have wider weight divisions so fighters don't have to drain themselves to make weight and can absorb punches to the head.
At the event in Brisbane, he said he would have a full medical team in place and had been given the go-ahead by veteran ringside doctor Lou Lewis, who claims there is less risk of brain trauma than fighting with gloves due to shorter blows and fewer repeated blows to the head.
"Obviously, it's going to be bloodier because it's bare knuckle and the skin can split quite easily," Mundine said.
"It's going to look more scary, but it actually isn't. We're doing it at a professional level where the fighters train for this type of fight."
Mundine described the sport as "the purest form of fighting".
"It's about putting on a spectacle," the 50-year-old said.
"We're in the entertainment industry. I'm 100 per cent certain that this event will entertain."
There are plans to have 10 bouts on the inaugural bare-knuckle Australian card, with the likes of Ben Horn, the brother of former Aussie boxer Jeff Horn, and NRL player turned boxer Curtis Scott tipped to take part.
