Texas Combat Sports: A whole lotta fightin' going on

I must admit I had not realized the volume of boxing and combat sport events in Texas. Here's a list of events coming up over the next 2-3 months from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation website:

Event Schedule

All events are subject to change or cancellation.

Boxing

• 11/06/14 Dallas Petroleum Club, Dallas
• 11/08/14 Top Rank, Pharr
• 11/15/14 Top Rank, San Antonio
• 11/15/14 Blue Chip Promotions, Humble
• 11/21/14 Savarese Promotions, Houston
• 11/21/14 Tejanito Promotions, El Paso
• 11/22/14 Undercard Promotions, Dallas
• 12/01/14 Leija/Battah Promotions, San Antonio
• 12/05/14 Blue Chip Promotions, Houston
• 12/06/14 Xtreme Combat Productions, Robstown
• 12/06/14 Golden Boy Promotions & Leija Battah Promotions, Laredo
• 01/17/15 League of Extraordinary Fighters Boxing Promotions, Beaumont
• 01/23/15 Saverese Promotions, Houston
• 01/26/15 Leija Battah Promotions, San Antonio

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)

• 11/07/14 STFC, McAllen
• 11/14/14 Legacy Promotions, Houston
• 11/22/14 UFC, Austin
• 12/12/14 Legacy Promotions, Houston
• 01/10/15 Fury Fighting Championship, San Antonio
• 01/10/15 Xtreme MMA, Corpus Christi (pro and amateur)
• 01/17/15 J and C Promotions, Brownsville
• 01/17/15 Back Alley, Arlington
• 01/30/15 Premiere Fight, Midland
• 02/13/15 Fury Fighting Championship, Humble

Combination Events (Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts)

• 01/16/15 Triple A Promotions, Laredo
• 01/17/15 Saverese Promotions, Houston

Amateur Mixed Martial Arts

• 11/15/14 Garcia Promotions, Dallas
• 11/20/14 USACA, Dallas
• 11/21/14 Icon Production Group (IASA), Victoria
• 11/21/14 Superior Combative Championships (SCC), Galveston
• 12/05/14 Savarese Amateur Association (SAA), Houston (Muay Thai)
• 12/06/14 CHASM Elite, Belton
• 12/06/14 Premiere Combat Group (PCG), San Antonio
• 01/10/15 Xtreme MMA, Corpus Christi (pro and amateur)
  

Kickboxing

• 01/16/15 Legacy Promotions, Houston

That's a lot of fights. And when you read the Sports pages or watch sports programming on local TV news (or for that matter, ESPN), there is almost zero fight coverage. The papers are doing a crappy job of covering what's clearly an emerging sport here in Texas and the fight promoters are doing a lousy job with publicity. I'm an actual fight fan - a casual one, but still ... you shouldn't have to hunt this list down on some obscure state licensing agency website. If the industry promoted itself properly they'd be telling folks like me about these events ahead of time.

The state just elevated a long-time staffer to become its new "Combative Sports Program Manager," fwiw, though I know nothing about the fellow to suppose that's a good or a bad thing. Texas' boxing regulation has been a running national joke for several years so part of me questions the decision to hire from within. Still, I hope he succeeds and does a good job. With our proximity to Mexico and the state's tough-guy culture, combat sports could and should flourish in Texas if the government and promoters can get out of the way of the growing number of fighters and fans.