Joel Rea suffered a crushing knock-out blow during a corporate fight night, which have caused some to raise safety concerns.
The potential danger of corporate boxing matches has been revealed in confronting footage of an Auckland man's knockout seconds into his first ever fight.
Joel Rea was seriously concussed on August 25, just eight seconds into his heavyweight bout at Auckland's ABA Stadium in a corporate event run by PeachBoxing gym.
The 36-year-old spent minutes on the canvas completely unconscious, and was hospitalised for several days at Auckland City Hospital undergoing a number CT scans to check for bleeding on the brain.
Rea has not returned to work since the fight a week ago, and is set to see a therapist next week to asses the severity of his concussion and the extent of brain injury.
His long-term memory since the fight has had many gaps, forgetting details about his children's lives, and it is possible he will suffer lifelong side effects from the concussion.
Joel Rea with his wife Olivia Rea at their home in Hatfields Beach, Auckland. Joel is recovering from a head injury he sustained after he was knocked out during a corporate boxing match on August 25.
Rea says he only had five weeks of training before stepping into the ring without a head guard, however his trainer at Peach Boxing disputes this.
The owner of the West Auckland boxing gym, Isaac Peach, has since announced they will no longer run corporate events.
"After that I hate it, I hate the fact it happened to him, I hate the fact it could happen again," Peach said.
Peach said he trained Rea for 10-12 weeks before the bout.
It is the second time in a matter of months an Auckland boxing gym has canned their corporate fight nights, which pit inexperienced fighters against each other often as the undercard to pro fights.
