A former Olympic boxer is hoping that his amateur mixed martial arts event in January will help pave the way for the City of Richmond to okay professional MMA bouts.

In the wake of Vancouver council’s decision on December 17 to allow MMA events in that city for a two-year trial period, Manny Sobral is selling tickets for a 10-bout fight night at the River Rock Casino Resort on January 23, 2010.

The president of Westcoast Promotions, who represented Canada at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, told the Straight today (December 23) that he’s optimistic Richmond council will look at the issue early in the new year.

He helped spur the establishment of the Richmond Athletic Commission in 2006, bringing pro boxing to the suburb.

“It’s very similar to what’s happening here, because there was no athletic commission in Richmond,” Sobral said by phone. “So, we did two amateur boxing shows, and invited councillors and people and warmed them up to it, and then went to city council and got the commission formed.

“Same with Coquitlam—there was no commission in Coquitlam either,” he added. “Then we did a pro show out in Coquitlam as well at the Boulevard Casino. So, I think it’s all going to go good.”

Richmond councillor Harold Steves will attend the MMA event in January, according to Sobral, who has met with the politician. Steves is council’s liaison with the Richmond Athletic Commission.

Westcoast has bought a 22-foot-wide hexagonal cage, which will allow it to put on the first fight night in the Lower Mainland to use a proper cage, he said. Although the line-up hasn’t been determined, he expects to showcase mostly local fighters with a few from Calgary and Seattle.

If Richmond says yes to MMA, Sobral said he’d consider working on getting Coquitlam to sanction MMA contests.

“You know, we’ll take it one step at a time,” he said. “I think it’s all going up once the UFC comes in June.”

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is expected to hold a pay-per-view MMA event next summer at GM Place.

“You talk to a teenager or a young adult, they don’t even really know what boxing is,” Sobral said, chuckling. “You tell them what UFC is, everybody knows what UFC is.”

Sobral lives in Vancouver and teaches at-risk youth at Britannia Secondary School. He called promoting boxing matches and now MMA fights a “fun thing” and “more of a hobby”.

“All the shows we’ve done, we haven’t really made any money,” he said. “But we’re having a lot of fun at it.”

The River Rock Show Theatre has space for an audience of 1,100. Tickets are being sold for the MMA event through Ticketmaster for between $29 and $99.

Athletic commissions in the provinces of Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Manitoba, as well as the cities of Nanaimo, Prince George, Calgary, and Edmonton, already regulate MMA events. The combat sport is not sanctioned in Ontario.

You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.