Team-based professional boxing returns for its third season this weekend as Team Combat League has its first live matches in 2024 on Friday, April 4, and Sunday, April 6
Team Combat League also returns with a new broadcast deal in place.
Ryan Zempoaltecatl of the NYC Attitude team poses for TCL Season 3 media day with Merit Street Media. Photo: Total Combat League
Dr. Phil’s MeritTV™, the multiplatform TV network founded by Dr. Phil McGraw, will exclusively air the season’s first live matches of “TCL Team Boxing League” on April 4 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, and Sunday, April 6 at 3 p.m. ET/12 noon PT across broadcast, cable, streaming, FAST platforms, and the network’s free app, MeritTV.
TCL’s 2025 season will launch with the Boston vs. New York battle from Foxwoods Casino, featuring teams of rising male and female talent alongside seasoned veterans. Competitors in the first and only professional boxing league with a team-based ownership model will face off across 12 different weight classes in 24 action-packed, three-minute rounds, with team performance determining the overall winner.
Team Combat League Schedule
The Boston Butchers face the NYC Attitude in the Season 3 Team Combat League opener. Photo: Team Combat League
Friday, April 4: Boston Butchers ss. NYC Attitude live from Foxwoods Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut
Sunday, April 6: Atlanta Attack vs. Nashville Smash live from Nashville Fairgrounds, Tennessee
The following weekend features Los Angeles vs. Miami, Phoenix vs. Las Vegas, and Philadelphia vs. New York City. Twenty weekends of TCL Boxing will air exclusively on MeritTV as part of a global media partnership announced earlier this year. The culmination of play-off rounds and final battles take place throughout July and August.
How Does Team Combat League Work?
TCL President Dewey Cooper is a tireless cheerleader for the new format in boxing. Photo: Team Combat League
Team Combat League matches feature 24 three-minute rounds. Competitors compete in single-round matches each. Eight weight classes participate: nine male weight classes (126, 135, 147, 154, 160, 168, 175, 199, and 201 pounds and up; and three female weight classes, 118, 126, and 140.
Each match is broken up into three periods. The first eight rounds are the Launch Rounds, rounds 9-16 are the Middle Rounds, and rounds 17-24 are the Money Rounds.
TCL uses its own point scoring system. Each round is scored individually. Judging done by panel of three judges licensed by a State Athletic Boxing Commission, the same as standard pro fights. Rounds are scored 10-9 for the round winner. If a knockdown occurs, scoring is 10-8. In the case of two knockdowns or a stoppage, the round is scored 10-7.
All the individual round scores are added up to determine a total team score, and the team with the highest total score at the end of all 24 rounds wins.
Launched in April 2024 under the Merit Street Media banner, Dr. Phil’s MeritTV is a premier multiplatform television network spearheaded by Dr. Phil McGraw, the esteemed best-selling author and award-winning television host. MeritTV creates and distributes compelling content across diverse platforms, reaching audiences nationwide. This fully distributed cable, satellite, streaming, FAST TV (free ad-supported streaming TV channels), and free over-the-air broadcast media brand reaches over 200 million homes.
Viewers can access the channel-finder link by entering ZIP codes at
MeritTV.com. The broad multiplatform scaled distribution partnerships – with a mix of broadcast, basic cable, national satellites, and FAST TV – include the free streaming app MeritTV, available to download via iPhone and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, and Roku.
