Boxing News Boxing News
I have to admit. I love watching pro wrestling. As ridiculous and sometimes plain out stupid it can get at times, I still watch it on occasion. When a story line gets out of control though, I will take a break for a few months ’til something new develops. I mean, they start ramming into each others cars with forklifts and running them over with monster trucks while their foe is inside; that’s just a bit too much. Especially when they magically appear unscathed afterward or with just minor injuries. Last time I checked, this was attempted murder and just because it happens during Monday Night Raw doesn’t change the fact it carries a 20 year sentence.
Boxing…well, that’s something totally different now. In this sport, there are no known outcomes. With so many fighters, so many divisions and so many different personalities, who knows what will happen at times? Nothing that goes on between the two bells is staged. The taunts and pre-fight name calling is genuine. The swelling, blood, dreams, heart displayed, success, failures, acceptance, fates and sometimes even tears are real. Nothing in this sport ever remains the same, yet nothing is ever different. Once upon a time, all you needed for a fight to happen were two opponents, a venue and a purse. Today, all that has changed.
These days, we have things like TV and PPV rights, catch weights, glove choice, ring size, who gets introduced first, color of trunks, which promoter gets top billing, sponsors, replay rights, who will announce and a 100 other things. Most of them are just choices that help feed egos and make fighters or managers feel they have the upper hand but…it is now all part of the game
Some of it is understandable; the need to do things that reach beyond the mainstream audience. PPV and cable TV means bigger bucks. More money to go around, more people looking to get paid. What once seemed to be a changing of the times has gone beyond that. Yet, with all the changes, some things that should be addressed, actually should have been addressed a long time ago, but have remained ignored. Things that are starting to detract from the pureness of the sport, while others are keeping the sport in the past.
With so many things changing and so many staying the same, I figured I would share some of my top issues that I feel are hurting the sport, and will continue to hurt the sport in the future and should have been adjusted in the past. If things remain this way, it will continue to hurt the sport as much as benefit it for the future.
10.) The Contender: With reality TV so popular, it was bound to happen. First FOX network had The Next Great Champion or whatever it was called. Then came NBC’s The Contender. A show of much better quality and a great concept in the beginning. Giving guys on the rise who lack the promotion team, or have yet to hit that next level, a chance to make a real payday. Or giving an ex contender one more chance at the big leagues.
The Hollywood, Rocky based fight scenes were annoying and Stallone acting at times like he really was an ex champion at times was insulting. The rest was fairly good. You thought season two would have had the kinks worked out but they turned all the guys into tragic figures.
They made Sergio Mora a boxing legend somehow, have a bogus legend in Tommy Gallagher, have perfectly capable ex champs like Steve Forbes, still in his prime practically, going against guys with records of 16-6, or 11-1.
The show sends out the wrong message about the sport; making everyone a sad sack. They overlook the dedication fully. The way family members just run to the fighters corner and start giving advice. Worst of all, Jeremy Williams is only allowed to say three sentences.
“You’re blowing it son” or “This is the most important fight of your life son” and “Make this a dog fight son…Dog fight him”…no wonder he was so successful as a fighter. The Contender Must Retire!
9.) Judges: Over the last year there have been some lopsided decisions and many bad calls in favor of hometown fighters. The margins of difference in scores have been alarming. The Toney vs. Peter fight was one recently where one judge had Toney way ahead. A few years ago Augustus vs. Burton was another poor call, not to mention a dozen in between. Judges should not be picked by commissions or sanctioning bodies. Put all their names in a computer and let it generate assignments at random. This way, no one is deterred to sway in favor of a hometown favorite or promoter’s fighter just a little so they can assure themselves continued steady work. Also, don’t select the judges until two days before the fight. This will avoid scoring controversies. The Judging System Needs Adjusting!
8.) Title Challengers: When you have guys who work hard over the years to get ranked and earn their shot at a belt, they should not be over looked by a promoter or manager of a champion. We see unranked guys get title shots all the time…at least guys not ranked in the top 10. It should be mandatory that a challenger for a belt should be ranked no lower than third, unless all top three have had a shot within the last year. This way no one gets overlooked or ducked in any way. Go in succession of order. This is why we have the top 10, no? Other than that, it would be called the top group of guys. Make all challenges go in order of succession and that way, everyone gets their fair share. How Title Challengers Are Selected Needs Adjusting!
7.) Location of title fights: To be world champion means THE WORLD. Today it seems that many champions always defend the belts at home or in their backyards. Two examples of this are Hatton (up until the Collazo fight) and Calzaghe, who never ventures farther than Germany or Sweden. Even Valuev, who has just come to America, stayed as close to Russia as possible. Anyone who watches football, or any other sport for that matter, knows that home field advantage is important. It means everything.
But the teams in those sports must also travel during the regular season. It’s the same in tennis, golf, or any other sport and it should be no different for fighters. Not only is the advantage unfair for momentum’s sake but also in judging and crowd support as well. Like I said, the belt means you are the WORLD champion. To be champion of the world, you must defend it around the world.
In no other sport is the championship game based in one of the team’s hometown. It should be instated that a world champion must go to another country to defend his belt every other defense. Not that he must go to his opponents home country, but somewhere besides his home. The Way Locations Of Title Fights Are Selected Needs Adjusting!
6.) Referees: To actually be in there with two fighters is not as easy as one would think. No matter how good a ref is, he will always miss something or mis-judge something due to a fighter’s craftiness. We see guys all the time that get away with holding, hitting low or hitting in the back of the head and the refs miss it.
Worse are the times when a referee deducts a point when he shouldn’t. Why not put another referee outside the ring? One that would see things from a different angle. Almost every other sport has more than one official. Why not boxing?. We have commission guys in the corners to watch the cutmen, would a second pair of eyes for the action in the ring be so bad? Changes To The Existing Referee System Should Be Considered.
5). Title Belts: Whatever happened to just one title? Hell, whatever happened to two or even three? Now we have so many belts, it makes your head spin. WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, IBU, and I could go on. The big three and recently the WBO are the only ones that really matter but how can every sanctioning bodies’ champion be the best in the division?
I can understand titles like the USBA, NABF and Commonwealth types as regional or minor championships, but they are not world titles. The prestige of the words World Champion are being washed away by this. The legitimacy is fading in the words WORLD CHAMPION.
Thank goodness Ring Magazine still exists and they still have their belt to sort out the mess. These people need to get together and come to some sort of agreement. We need one champion in each division. I’ll even settle for three. But at this rate there will be more champions than challengers. The Overwhelming Number Of Number Of Organizations That Crown World Champions Needs To Be Adjusted.
4.) Weight Classes: There are 17 weight classes in boxing, straw-weight to heavyweight. This has been a problem for quite some time. Not only does it make for too many titles but hurts divisional quality due to the fact the weight is so limited and it causes fighters to have a hard time managing the few pounds difference.
I know it generates more money, but it also encourages pretender type champions. Bring back the old days of just 8 divisions Get rid of the super and junior categories. Expand the talent pool in the divisions and cut out some of the confusion. This will also help make paper champions obsolete and add some extra legitimacy to the world titles, if that is at all possible. The Extra Weight Classes Need To Go!
3.) Commission Undermining: When a commission suspends or decides that a guy can’t fight for his own safety, it should be upheld by all the other state athletic commissions. They are letting money rule over safety and order. They are also sending the message to these guys that “you can do what you want and if they don’t like it, the hell with them, just go somewhere else”.
This takes away the authority of a state commission. If a commission wants to allow a fighter to fight when another commission has denied it, then there should be a vote. At least 10 other state athletic commissions have to agree with that overturning state’s decision. If not, then it’s a no go.
Enough of this “mommy said no, so I’ll go to Daddy” crap. Fighters are subject to disciplinary action because they broke the written rules. They are medically suspended because a doctor found them unfit to fight and although it doesn’t happen that often, it does happen. Rules and safety are the first priority. Without them, a commission means nothing. Over turning another state commission’s decision. The Overturning Of One Commissions Medical Suspension By Another Needs To Go!
2.) Pay Per View: Yes, it is a good idea…sometimes. I know that this helps expand the sport, but it is getting out of control. There are too many occasions in which a good fighter has a PPV fight against a garbage opponent. The prices are through the roof and lets be honest – who can afford $49.99 twenty some times a year?
That’s in addition to the premium channels for big fights such as HBO and Showtime. Do they realize this is pushing even the most die hard fans away? Remember, big wigs, the sport means nothing without the fans to watch it! Hell, in my days of first watching boxing, all the big fights were on ABC!
Let’s limit the amount of PPV cards. Let’s make sure the ones we have are worthy. I am all about increasing revenue and passing around the spoils but c’mon, lets not get too out of control. Look out for the fans first because they’re the people who generate the salaries. Unworthy Pay Per View Broadcasts Need To Go!
1.) Salary caps: This sounds crazy, I know, as this ain’ t football or hockey; this is boxing. The truth is these crazy purse demands are starting to cause more trouble than anything. There are guys who fight for $500 and those who fight for $20,000,000. Which is all dandy. Hey, half the reason for fighting is money but these guys are using it to hold up fights, complaining that $10,000,000 isn’t enough. Let’s get real!
Once you have made $30,000,00 in the ring, I don’t think a quibble over money is legit. Once you are at that level in your career, and your opponent is top caliber, then you are both worthy of big money. Most likely, you have both been earning it for quite sometime. Give the champion more, of course, because that is a luxury of being champion, but when a guy says he can’t fight for $5,000,000, then that is just plain out and out unacceptable.
There is a point where a fighter must realize boxing made him rich, not the other way around. Plus, fans are cheated out of the best matches out there.
I suggest a cap on all fights and a limit on percentage differentials. The moral ground on the “I need to look out for my interest” excuse is out the window. These aren’t guys who are holding out for better insurance or a few dollars more an hour. Not even better pensions. They want millions more than their mega millions.
Put a cap on salary and base the rest on PPV or TV percentages as a bonus. This will assure us of more big fights taking place and less excuses being thrown around. If a fighter is so sure that he is such a big draw and deserves the extra dough, then he should have no worries about getting the other millions from the buys generated by the people paying to see him. The Purse System In Boxing Needs Adjusting!
Like always, these are just my opinions and of course, opinions vary. Although these things seem to make sense, nothing is perfect and as much as I love the sport, neither is boxing.
I am sure that all of you out there can come up with an additional idea or two? I am sure that many of you disagree with my points in this article. But hey, unlike the guys supposedly in charge, at least I am giving these important issues some thought.
