Daniel “Jungleman” Cates isn’t any stranger to heads-up contests having participated within the notorious “durrrr” problem years in the past and extra lately reserving a $15 million revenue in a sequence of one-on-one matches versus Ossi “Monarch” Ketola in August 2025. But, it wasn’t poker that was the main focus of Jungleman’s newest heads-up duel however fairly “the candy science”: pugilism, fisticuffs – that is proper, boxing. On Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, Cates squared off within the ring in opposition to sports activities betting persona Ryan “Elf” Noel, and the consequence was something however easy.
In regards to the Contenders
Earlier than going into the small print of the battle and what occurred, maybe it will be a good suggestion to offer a short overview of the combatants.
Dan “Jungleman” Cates
Daniel Cates, 36, from Bowie, Maryland, began enjoying poker on the age of 17 and even dropped out of school to develop into a full-time poker professional. Within the late 2000s, he took on very powerful rivals at Full Tilt Poker to hone his recreation and ultimately was thought of probably the greatest heads-up No Restrict Texas Maintain’em gamers on this planet. He has received two back-to-back World Sequence of Poker gold bracelets within the Poker Gamers Championship occasion in 2021 and 2022.
Dan “Jungleman” CatesRyan “Elf” Noel
Ryan Noel is a former actuary from the Boston space. He is 25 years outdated and has a preferred X account with the username “Elf”. He claims to have made $200,000 betting sports activities in 2024. Elf hosts a sports activities betting present on X known as “The Elf Present.” Though Noel just isn’t an expert poker participant, he has appeared a few occasions on Hustler On line casino Dwell.
Ryan “Elf” NoelBackground to the Combat
Phrase of the battle started to unfold round Jan. 7. It was introduced that the 2 contestants would take to the ring Jan. 22 on the Maybourne Beverly Hills as one in every of 5 matches on the cardboard that night. The bout was sanctioned by the Worldwide Kickboxing Federation (IKF) and was held underneath the auspices of the Beverly Hills Combat Membership.
Though preliminary experiences stated that “solely these invited by the hosts are permitted to attend,” we later noticed data that said {that a} nook desk on the bout, seating between 8 and 10 spectators, would value $5,000. There was no prize cash up for grabs, however the two adversaries had a large guess with one another on the result.
Neither combatant had any former expertise within the ring. Taller and youthful than his opponent, Ryan “Elf” Noel was the favourite to trounce the older and presumably slower Jungleman. Professional poker participant Rob Kuhn felt that Elf was “the stone lock of the century” to win the battle.
Bookmakers appeared to agree with this opinion. BetOnline listed Elf as a -280 favourite with Jungleman the +220 underdog.
What Occurred within the Ring
The battle began as scheduled with the viewers enthused and cheering for his or her favorites. Each fighters weren’t shy about stepping into the fray and aggressively trying to finest their opponent. The primary spherical ended with out both being knocked down, however Elf was the clear winner of the spherical.
Jungleman and Elf Preventing within the RingIt was through the second spherical that the bout ended, and the denouement of the match was most uncommon. Following a short scuffle that noticed the fighters clasp onto one another and fall to the mat collectively, they each regained their footing. The ref separated the 2.
The official then dropped his arm and yelled, “battle!” Nonetheless, Jungleman appeared dazed and disoriented, and it appeared that he didn’t hear the directions of the referee. Elf rapidly ran towards his adversary and threw a haymaker that caught Dan full within the face. Cates went down immediately although he surprisingly climbed again to his ft in a short time.
Jungleman’s face was bloody, and the referee determined to finish the battle then and there. It was dominated no contest, that means that neither participant was granted the victory: an anti-climactic consequence to make certain. After the battle was over, it got here to mild that Dan had suffered a concussion though there would not appear to be any lasting harm.
Some imagine that Ryan acted in an unsportsmanlike method by launching an assault on the clearly unprepared Dan. Nonetheless, others famous that the ref had indicated for the battle to proceed, and it was Cates’ accountability to make sure that he heard and adopted these directions.
Elf posted a video of the punch in query on X. You may check out it right here and choose for your self.
Resolution Modified Upon Attraction
Noel was sad with the choice, and he appealed to the IKF. They carried out a “thorough evaluation of the footage” and, on or round Jan. 31, decided that Elf was the victor by technical knockout.
Nonetheless, the story would not finish there. Daniel Cates acquired a 30-day suspension from coaching and a 45-day suspension from competitors. The IKF famous that “It stays the accountability of all fighters to guard themselves always.” Ryan Noel drew a 120-day suspension as a result of he allegedly “directed verbal abuse at officers,” ”refused to cooperate with the ringside doctor,” and demonstrated “common disregard for fee guidelines.”
Dan Cates paid off his guess to Ryan Noel. Nonetheless, virtually all sportsbooks and prediction markets that accepted motion on the battle abided by the unique no-contest determination and voided all wagers.
Subsequent Steps
After the bout, each rivals headed to X to offer their last remarks and point out their future plans with boxing:
It appears like Jungleman has no quick plans to don his boxing gear once more although he would not rule it out sooner or later if situations are proper. Elf, nonetheless, has been busy establishing his subsequent match with $100,000 on the road!
Poker Is Safer Than Boxing
We will not assist guide you into sanctioned boxing matches if that is what you are fascinated about. However if you wish to play some poker, then you definately’ve come to the appropriate place. We work with numerous on-line poker websites which can be blissful to simply accept prospects from america. With poker, you will get the identical thrill of competitors which you can from boxing however with out the specter of bodily hurt.
We expect that the very best on-line poker website for many readers is Ignition On line casino Poker. Once you make a primary deposit utilizing crypto-currency, you will qualify for a 150% as much as $1,500 poker bonus. You may additionally get a second bonus to make use of with on line casino video games. Click on the button under to create an Ignition account:
If you wish to learn extra about Ignition first, then try this thorough Ignition Poker evaluation. For different web cardrooms to play at, head over to this USA on-line poker information.
Feb. 3, 2026 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief
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