Referent of MMA in France, possible first president of his federation when it will exist, Bertrand Amoussou did not expect such a decision on Tuesday. But he is delighted with this new advance concerning the legalization of his sport. The Sports Ministry has decided to place the MMA under the aegis of the French Boxing Federation to help it structure itself.
What is your reaction to the announcement by Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu?
BERTRAND AMOUSSOU. I did not expect him at that time. We were told at the end of January or the beginning of February but it is a great satisfaction. Finally, it is the end of a 15-year long process. 15 years of work to arrive at this decision. What a relief !
Are you satisfied that your sport is under the aegis of the French Boxing Federation?
Yes. There were, it seems, two Federations in balance, that of wrestling and that of boxing. Boxing and MMA have a lot in common and it is good that it is our umbrella federation. It fulfills all the criteria to help us grow, to train us so that in the long term, we can be autonomous and have our own Federation. We marry boxing knowing that we will invariably get divorced one day to stand on our own two feet. In the meantime, we are going to work in good intelligence and I am delighted.
MMA soon to be legalized, what is it going to change concretely for you?
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We are no longer renegades! Our sport is finally recognized as it deserves. We will be able to train, with the help of our boxing friends, qualified educators. Fights will be able to be organized and when the public will discover them, when they will see the great spectacular fights that we can reserve for him, he will not return from it.
