8-Year-Old Girl Kickboxes In A Ring, Government Official Is Appalled

Like many little girls, Jasmine Parr wants to emulate her mom and dad. Her father is Australian kickboxing champion John Wayne Parr; her mother, Angie Rivera Parr, is also a fighter. So Jasmine kickboxes, and last month, she got in the ring and fought a 7-year-old girl. Phil Reeves, the Queensland Minister for Child Safety and Sport, said he was “absolutely appalled at the image of children of this age being put in a boxing ring.” But kids play football and hockey and soccer and practice karate, and if you count climbing trees and riding bikes, there are zillions of ways to get hurt. Jasmine was wearing protective headgear, and gloves so big her father claimed it was like a “pillow fight.”

After the fight, Jasmine said: “I was sort of afraid when she kept kicking my leg.” And: “It makes me feel really, really happy – I want to keep fighting.”