What happened to The Original Toughman Fan Page?

In a nutshell, it was closed down because of threatened legal action from Adoreable Promotions, Inc. (API)--the people who run Toughman. In retrospect, I'm glad they shut me down. It made me see Toughman for what it is.

Have a problem with the actions of API/Toughman? Email them.

Think Toughman should be shut down before more innocent people die? Write your representatives at both the state and national levels!

Update (6/18/03)

This makes me absolutely sick. A young mother of two is dead as a result of injuries she received in a Toughman competition. They need to shut Toughman down NOW! IMMEDIATELY! Professional and Golden Gloves boxing is a sport. Toughman is NOT. Click here for an excellent article differentiating between boxing and Toughman.

Toughman has made Art Dore rich and has killed quite a few innocent people. My sincere condolences to this lady's family and the families of all other competitors that have died as a result of Toughman.

Many people associated with legitimate boxing are speaking out against Toughman. The fourth link below quotes Mark Beiro, a well-known ring announcer.

Amateur Boxer Dies Days After Bout

Mother Injured In Fight Will Die

Police Investigate Toughman Fight (added on 6/20/03)

Another Toughman Death Prompts Scrutiny (AP Newswire) (added on 6/23/03)

Think Toughman is Safe? Read this. (added on 6/30/03)

Click here for more news articles on the recent deaths in Toughman (added 6/30/03)

Update (1/16/03)

As I said, I don't follow Toughman any longer. Nevertheless, I wanted to post this article that was brought to my attention. It seems that Art Dore was just denied a license in Nevada. Awwwwww, what a shame. There will be no Toughman Contests in Las Vegas. It is breaking my heart.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/eat/2003/jan/14/514516186.html

Update (11/5/02)

I am embarassed to have ever been a fan of Toughman. I have not kept up with Toughman in a long time. However, a friend of mine alerted me to the fact that there have been a couple of recent deaths. Here are the articles from the newspaper about one of the deaths:

http://www.theeagle.com/region/localregional/092202toughmandeath.htm

http://www.theeagle.com/region/localregional/092102toughmandies.htm

http://www.theeagle.com/region/localregional/091702toughman.htm

By the way, Toughman took down their Fan Forum rather than let people post about the deaths. In my opinion, this was an idiotic move. Instead of letting people deal with their feelings, they took away the only forum these people had. The cowards took down the message board rather than answer questions from fans and competitors. I hope this clearly demonstrates what kind of man Art Dore is and what kind of company he runs. Why anyone would continue to support Toughman either by being a fan or a competitor is beyond me.

Background

Well, Toughmanfan.com has been down for a while now. Most of you that are reading this probably never got to see my webpage while it was up. I had photos that I took myself at many Toughman contests and even some short video clips. I even drove from my home in Dallas, Texas to Tunica, Mississippi in February 2001 to cover the light-heavyweight semifinals. Its not as if they get any real press coverage. I would think they would have been glad for the exposure.

I had a message board (which API and their official website ripped off completely), and posted results of every fight, TV schedules, etc. You name it, I had it. There was no advertising at all, and I never did anything to make money from the Toughman name. I spent my own money on it all. Inexplicably, Art Dore and API sent their lawyers after me with threats of legal action and forced me to shut down the website.

Apparently, Art likes to pick on the little guys who can't afford to defend themselves in court. I don't think they had a case, but I didn't have the money to fight them. I had my family to think about. Besides, I decided that if they were going to be belligerent, then why should I run a fan site promoting their product?

Now you know what kind of person Art Dore is. I receive several emails a week agreeing with my opinion of him. As a fan or a competitor, I hope you will reconsider supporting Toughman.

Continue reading to find out the details of what happened. I also include links to the lawyer's letters and to letters I sent to both Art and Wendy Dore.

June 2001

I got a big "SCREW YOU" letter from API's lawyers on 6/11/01. I made several different offers to them in the spirit of cooperation, but they rejected them. They reiterated their demand that I take down the website. I cannot understand their motivation--this site only promoted Toughman. I did it because I enjoy watching Toughman Contests. I never sought personal gain, and in fact spent plenty of my own time and money. Nevertheless, Toughman has ordered me to take it down. The only reason their lawyers gave me was that it violated U.S. Trademark and Unfair Competition Laws. Yeh, whatever. It was a FAN PAGE! I know that the real reason was that people were posting opinions on my message board that Art Dore did not like. It was not under his control, so he sent his lawyers after me. I would have thought he was a bigger man than that.

I would like to thank everyone for their support. API did hear you. Unfortunately, the people in charge do not care. They also do not respond to personal letters. I wrote both Art and Wendy Dore and have never received anything from them personally.

I hope that you, the fighters, got something out of the website while it lasted. This site was never about "Toughman" per se. It was basically about the fighters and the heart I've seen displayed in the ring. You guys are what make Toughman the success that it has become. Do not forget that.

The fans are also a big part of Toughman. Without fans shelling out money to see the fights, Toughman would be nowhere. Well, I can say with complete certainty that they will not be getting any more of my money. I offered up much of my own time and money doing this website and was sucker punched by Art Dore and company. Don't forget how API treats its "friends". Instead, let this provide some insight into how they operate. I'm done with Toughman. If Art and Wendy Dore had half as much class as most of the fighters show in the ring, they would not have done this to me. I want no part of them or Toughman any longer.

Recently, I have discovered that the real reason the wanted me shut down is so that they would have no competition for their new message board. How original! Check it out--they copied mine down to the last detail. Real smooth, Art. I guess you don't like a little competition--even when both websites are in your best interest.

September 2001

Around the first of September 2001, I received a phone call from Art Dore in response to some noise I'd been making on API's message board. Art wanted to see if we could work together. However, I asked him why he didn't call me back in May when his lawyers were harassing me and he didn't have an answer. Nor did he have an answer as to why he never responded to my letters. I guess once he realized that I was going to be a thorn in his side, he decided to give me a call. I really got the sense that he was ONLY calling me because I didn't go away quietly--not because it was the right things to do. As I said, he never had an answer when I asked why he would never return calls back when everything was hitting the fan.

I thought about his offer, and responded with an email to him and his lawyer later that day declining further involvement with Toughman. Click here for the text of the email.

Toughman's #1 Fan NO MORE,

David Taylor (david@davidtaylorfamily.com)