YORKTON – Fighting in hockey has long been seen as just a part of the sport – at least among many Canadians.
But what if you kept the fighting, and tossed out the hockey?
Well, you’d end up with Ice Wars, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, and the sport Yorkton’s Reid Krasowski is hoping to carve out a name for himself.
To do that Krasowski has a huge challenge ahead of him as he prepares to face UFC fighter Charles Rosa in an Ice Wars tilt in Miami Oct. 10.
“It’s the co-main event,” Krasowski told Yorkton This Week, adding he realizes he is the underdog against a name UFC fighter.
But Krasowski also thinks he might have a bit of an edge, noting Rosa hasn't been on skates in years, and that just might be where he has an advantage.
Also Ice Wars is basically bare-knuckle boxing on skates, so take-downs and chokes common in UFC are not an option for Rosa either.
So Krasowski is focusing on being the better boxer on skates. He said thanks to some local sponsorship he has been able to get a sheet of artificial ice that he has hung a heavy bag over so he can work on his boxing and his skating.
The Labour Day weekend Krasowski was also heading to Winnipeg for five days of training with the Haymaker Fight Crew, basically a team of Ice Wars combatants.
Krasowski said he was drawn to Ice Wars because while not big enough to actually fight the ‘enforcers’ in hockey, he liked the fighting more than the hockey. Ice Wars with weight classes lets him take up the fighting part on a more even footing.
Ultimately, Krasowski said he’s “more excited than nervous” about the upcoming bout, adding a good showing may open other doors in the sport.
