SD House Panel Endorses Fight Regulation Bill

A South Dakota House committee has endorsed a bill that would create a state athletic commission to regulate professional boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts.

The panel voted unanimously to send the bill to the full House despite Gov. Dennis Daugaard's continued opposition.

Daugaard has said he opposes the bill because it would legitimize mixed martial arts fights, which he says are so violent they don't deserve to be called sport.

The governor's legal counsel, Jim Seward, says he does not know whether Daugaard would veto the measure. But he says the governor has pledged that if the bill becomes law in the form passed by the committee, he would appoint the commission.

Supporters say the commission is needed to make sure mixed martial arts contests are safe.