“It’s like Tinder, but for people who want to fight”

10 July, 2015. 15:06

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

IT’S LIKE TINDER, but for people who want to fight.

That’s the message this morning from the NSW government as they look in to alternative measures to clamp down on the scourge of alcohol-fuelled violence.

Police minister Stuart Ayres says the new app, which will be available for download within weeks, aims to prevent revellers hurting them while out on the tiles by providing Sydneysiders with a suitable venue to fight each other.

Although the government hasn’t revealed the official name of the controversial app yet, it’s believed to follow the same format as Tinder – allowing users to include their height, weight, reach and win-loss records.

“We’ve spoken to a number of local gymnasiums and PCYCs in local areas,” said Mr Ayres.

“Basically, should two people agree to fight each other via the app, they’d meet at a gym of their choice. There will be proper boxing equipment like gloves and what not – plus the added bonus of medical professionals on standby,”

“It won’t be cheap but were already looking in to ways to offset this.”

One way that the government plans to fund this barbaric programme is to charge admission for the average punter to watch the impromptu combat spectacle.

In addition the charging people to view the fights, the government also plans to licence the venues for the evening, selling mid-strength liquor and warm meat pies – at an extortionate rate.

These latest measures come as the city’s nightlife shifts outside the lockout zone and in to more residential areas such as Newtown, Erskineville and Manly – leading to a spike in alcohol-related crime in those neighbourhoods.

Just last month, a transgender musician was brutally assaulted at the Town Hall Hotel in Newtown, which started a dialogue surrounding the proposed local lockouts.

However, local combat gym owner Bruce MacGillion said that this new idea does have some merit.

“Yeah I’ve had the government hit me up about hosting these late night scraps,” he said.

“It’s a great idea. You can’t stop people from fighting, so why not let them do it in a safer environment?”

“Sometimes blokes just need to punch the shit through each other, that’s nature – but you only ever heard about it when somebody dies.” he said.

Not all the feedback on the project has been positive, with many local tough guys expressing their fears over being exposed as ‘one-punch-wonders’ by the app.

The rebranding of ‘king hits’ as ‘coward punches’ has spearheaded the tumbling number of assaults in Kings Cross, but that’s not to say they don’t happen.

Potts Point supplement salesman Glenn Dureaux says that the app has the potential to deflate the egos of thousands of young Australians and cause a ‘tsunami of depression’.

“Back when us amateur fighters used to king hit kids up the Cross, we’d go home feeling on top of the world – like we were the baddest men alive,” he said.

“Now there’s the danger of agreeing to fight some guy who looks harmless, but in reality, he’s a full-blown sicko who’s actually done prison time for viciously bashing people,”

“The government will have blood on their hands.” he said.

The app will be available for download on July 25 from the Apple iTunes Store and Google Play.