Let's talk boxing promoters.... the scourge of boxing today

[TitoFan]

Boxing is not like the NFL or the NBA where you can buy a franchise and the franchise has a set number of guaranteed games every year, a gigantic regular guaranteed amount of money from TV every year, even very predictable guaranteed income from merchandising/food and drink at your stadium/arena etc.

Professional boxers don't have a pot to piss in when they start boxing for a living. There wouldn't be any fights at all if it wasn't for a bunch of sleazy fuckers putting up their own cash to put the fights on. And it's not a guaranteed thing -- plenty of people have tried and failed. You've got to subsidise a whole bunch of fighters, put them on a wage and pay their expenses and hope that some day one of them makes you some money and you can turn a profit on the whole enterprise. The regulatory system in boxing -- such as it is -- the sanctioning bodies, local commissions and so on has just evolved around the money guys who put the fights on. Various commissions operate basic health checks and supply officials and so on with their costs ultimately borne by the promoters (places like Vegas are a little different, the casinos basically fund the Nevada commission). The sanctioning bodies exist to make a profit too. They basically rent belts to various promoters so that their fighters can fight for and hold "world" titles.

The bottom line for boxing is that it's impossible to create what you have in other sports. There's no team or brand that can go on for ever, no leagues with guaranteed games/TV coverage/merchandising/sponsorship and so on for your team. It's just that bunch of sleazy guys putting their cash up in the hope of making a profit. And because it begins and ends with the promoters the whole structure of professional boxing can't be altered.

No... boxing is not like the NFL or the NBA... you're right. Except in one critical way. They depend on the fans. For all the "guarantees" you mention, none of them are worth spit if the fans don't go see the games. Empty stadiums can last only for so long. Again... professional sports are a product. We the fans are the consumers. However the business is structured, the rules of supply and demand still apply.

You forgot to mention golf and tennis players. Very few of professional golfers or tennis players are the Federers, Nadals, and Woods of the world. There's hundreds, maybe more, of pros who barely make enough money to remain on tour. Prize money below the top players drops off significantly. Yet they remain and persist. They continue because they enjoy what they're doing... and because maybe lightning will strike once in awhile and they'll win something.

So I appreciate you trying to make boxing into this totally different monster in the world of sports. But I refuse to believe that we (the consumers) have to continue to accept a totally damaged product.

That there are good, decent fighters, promoters, and other boxing people out there who want to bring fans the best? Absolutely. But I'm not buying the "oh but boxing's different" ball of wax.

You say boxing's structure can't be altered and we have to take it or leave it? Fine... that's your prerogative. Just remember... boxing might be one of the world's oldest sports... but fans of today are different from those of yesterday. Plus there are a lot more products out there competing for our consumer dollars. I still think promoters could be under a set of rules. Nothing too binding. Just enough to ensure they don't hold the sport hostage.

You can't have any set of rules govering promoters other than what exists. Promoters are the people putting up the money for the fights. Without the promoters professional boxing doesn't exist. It's never going to change.

It is TV companies that put up the money which ultimately comes from the fans that pay per view these contests. They want exclusivity of the fighter, promoters want exclusivity of the channel and groups are created which get in the way of big fights. Boycott ppv and hit them where it hurts.

Boycotts will never happen in boxing. Boxing fans grab whatever scraps are tossed at them by the promoter/network conglomerates, who laugh all the way to the bank.

The product keeps getting worse and worse, and boxing fans continue to grovel for more.... and paying good money for it.

Like dogs fighting over a dried up bone, some fans then turn their attention to who got the better contract and how the negotiations are going.

Personally I'd rather watch grass grow.



Promoters put up money for fights... so what. It's not outlandish to ask them to adhere to some not-too-stringent rules of engagement, to avoid the awful god stinking mess we get every time two highly touted fighters get anywhere sniffing distance from each other. Like I said... fighters want it... fans want it... what's the hold up. It's not like promoters are dying of hunger. But if the effort isn't made, nothing gets done. Simple as.