Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) squared off against former kickboxing champion "Irish" John Foley in a two-round celebrity boxing match on Saturday before a crowd of about 400 at a Long Island pub.
No winner was declared in the fight, which King participated in to raise money for a local boxing gym, according to Newsday.
King, 68, reportedly kept up with Foley, who at 31 is less than half his age. In an interview before the fight, King said he'd only have a chance if Foley held back.
“Josh is a real fighter. I’m doing it for the sport and hopefully he’s going to hold back on me a bit, but we’re going to go at it for two rounds,” King told 1010 WINS.
But he also joked that his day job could give him an advantage in the ring.
“Being in Congress, you know, it builds up your stress, it builds up the anxiety, it builds up the anger and I can take it out on Josh Foley. I just hope he doesn’t take it out on me,” King said.
King said in that interview he weighed in at around 230 pounds and had been training for around nine years.
“I found that boxing is ... it’s a great outlet. It gets rid of a lot of stress, it’s good cardiovascular exercise and it just gets a lot of out of your system, so I’m looking forward to it on Saturday,” he said.
At least one ethics watchdog group, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, had complained that King's appearance potentially ran afoul of House rules that prevent members from favoring specific businesses.
“Is it the most serious ethics violation in the world? No,” Melanie Sloan, the organization’s executive director, told Newsday. “But you’re not allowed to do that.”
King disagreed with Sloan's assessment of the fight's ethical implications.
"Lending my time to a local gym and pub in the community in which I have absolutely no financial interest is part of my job as a congressman," King said.
