Corona virus killing sports at the moment

[powerpuncher]

I was actually looking forward to the UFC card. It was at least something. Now it’s cancelled

[Master]

Coronavirus lockdown may lead to fights being made faster

The coronavirus pandemic could give boxing "a kick up the backside" when it comes to making fights in the future, according to trainer Dominic Ingle, even if the sport has to wait until September at the earliest for a return to action.

With countries on lockdown because of the global health crisis, bouts scheduled for May, June and July have all been postponed, and there is no clear indication when the situation will improve enough for cards to be scheduled again in 2020.

Along with the continued uncertainty over fight dates, boxers are also having to make do with staying busy at home because of social distancing restrictions.

A lack of gym time — denying the opportunity to get in pivotal sparring rounds during a training camp — could lead to further delays, though Ingle believes the enforced break may result in a fresh outlook when it comes to negotiating fights, considering the time already lost this year.

"It's a wait-and-see time," Ingle told Stats Perform.

"Let's say we get to the end of May and the lockdown is lifted, and the fighters have been training anyway, it still gives you about six weeks up to boxing's summer break," he added.

"They're probably going to be fit enough, but they want to be in the gyms sparring. For us, six weeks is about right, but others will want to do more rounds sparring and a lot more gym work. Our fighters could be ready in six weeks, because we don't do a lot of sparring anyway.

"Realistically, though, you're looking at the beginning of September."

On matchmaking, he added: "It may give everyone a kick up the backside to get things moving quicker.

"When you've got a job to do, sometimes you think you've got all the time in the world to do it. This [lockdown] will make people realize that time is of the essence, though.

"It has probably made people see that you can't waste time, whether that's in your career or in life in general."

Staging sporting events being behind closed doors has been talked about as a way of restarting sooner; events would be broadcast to an audience watching from home. Ingle is not so keen on that idea for boxing.

"That kind of defeats the object," he said. "We need an atmosphere at fights, and you're going to need officials anyway, plus a lot of people in the background to make sure the show still works."



"When it [the lockdown] first happened, I thought we were all taking it lightly," Ingle added. "Then the realization kind of hits home. Going into it, people had a bit of a lackadaisical attitude. I think coming out of it, people will be the same.

"They will think things will get back to normal quickly, that we will just be able to put on shows. That's wishful thinking, for me. Realistically, and logistically, I don't think it's going to work like that."

The famous Ingle gym in Sheffield, England, would normally include Kell Brook, Kid Galahad and Liam Williams among the regular visitors, but the threat of COVID-19 has forced the trainer to keep track of his stable from afar.

"They've all got workouts to do. We've got them on GPS monitors, so we can see what they are doing and can give them their workouts," Ingle explained. "They do their runs to keep their fitness up, so they will be all right.

"I go 12 to 16 weeks without getting paid, because we get paid at the end of a camp when the fights happen. That's how we've always operated. We have money in reserve, but, for us, this is like another training camp.

"They are always training, obviously, but there is normally a concentrated effort for 10 to 12 weeks [before a bout]. It's almost like we live on lockdown anyway then, as we can't have a social life during that time. You have to be in bed early and get up early, so you are kind of used to this."

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/dom...214128971.html

[Ron Swanson]

No insult intended, clearly the USA has botched this Covid-19 situation worse than anyone so not coming from a position of superiority but...,

Why are the UK and France not testing?

[greynotsoold]

There is a promoter up here advertising a 21 bout card for August. I fully expect states like Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas to be open well before that.

[Master]

Lee Selby has good reason to avoid the gym

Lee Selby explained that underlying health issues with his partner and young daughter means he will be reluctant to return to boxing gyms until he is certain it is safe to do so.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to an indefinite suspension of all boxing in this country, with Selby’s final eliminator for the IBF lightweight title against George Kambosos Jr among a significant number of bouts postponed.

Promoter Eddie Hearn conducted an ePress conference with both fighters as Matchroom launched a series on its YouTube page, using the platform to reveal his hopes of boxing commencing again in late June or early July.



While Selby believes his conditioning means he could fight straight away, he insists he would have to consider the ramifications of returning to open gyms for sparring.

“I’m what people call a gym rat, I’m always in the gym, I’m always working,” he said. “If I was to box a 12-round fight or spar 12 rounds tomorrow I could do that no problem.

“But the sparring for a big fight like this, you’d need to be properly prepared so I’d need the sparring, maybe six weeks’ worth of quality sparring. But it’s having the confidence to go back into the gyms.

“In my household I have two people at risk: my partner has congenital heart disease, she was born with two holes in her heart, but she’s been fine ever since the operations as a baby. But there is still a risk there.

“And my daughter has asthma so to get the confidence to go to the gyms and know that I’m not going to bring anything back to the house, that’s the only problem with me.”

Selby is aiming to become Wales’ first two-weight world champion and would have moved a step closer to fighting for a 135lb title with victory over Kambosos Jr, scheduled for May 9 at Cardiff.

While the date was initially moved to July 11, that is no longer official although Hearn is optimistic he will once again be able to start staging shows in empty arenas – even though the British Boxing Board of Control said last week the suspension would continue after the Covid-19 lockdown is lifted because of the pressure the sport puts on the NHS.

Hearn said: “We’re planning to get boxing back up and running at the end of June, certainly July we will be in full flow behind closed doors, for sure.”

Kambosos Jnr, a Greek-Australian who has amassed a perfect professional record of 18-0, believes he is catching Selby (28-2) at the right time.

Kambosos Jnr, who at 26 is seven years younger than Selby, said: “I’m the young bull coming through, you’re the old bull heading out. You’ve been there, done it and won your world title. I haven’t done that yet.

“I’m not being disrespectful but the man has had his time and you just can’t stop a young bull right now.”

The pair sparred each other for four rounds at the fabled Wild Card gym in Los Angeles a few years ago, and Kambosos Jnr boasted: “Every time I touched him he was shaking in his boots.

“I had the boy running, he ran all over Wild Card. Running and trying to use his jab. It was a long time ago but I know I got the upper hand.”

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/lee...200614645.html

[Master]

Coronavirus upends boxing's pay structure, meaning fighters must take less once pandemic ends

Why fighters must take less after coronavirus pandemic
In most professional sports, an athlete’s pay is directly related to performance. Nice guy or bad guy, popular or not, if you help your team win, you will be paid. The more helpful you are, the more you will be paid.

And, that’s as it should be despite some fans, particularly old-timers, shuddering at the Monopoly-type numbers being thrown around today. Adjusted for inflation, Babe Ruth only made $16.4 million — in his entire career. And Ruth’s $80,000 salary in 1931 would equate to $1.3 million in 2020, or about $35 million less than New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole will make when this season begins.

The money is there, though, and so the players in all sports are worth what they can get. There are salary caps in the NBA, NFL and NHL, which dictate the pool from which the players are paid. The NBA players recently agreed to take 25 percent pay cuts beginning on May 15.

And when those cap leagues begin their next season, salaries are going to come down because revenues have declined.

Boxing, though, is different. Paying for performance is only part of the equation, and the less important part. The Yankees’ gross revenues won’t change appreciably no matter how Cole performs. Yankee Stadium is still going to be largely sold out, TV ratings will be high and the Yankees will basically have that license to print money.

Boxing is vastly different. If a fighter is great but can’t sell tickets, the promoter is going to be in dire straits if the pay structure of the contract is judged by performance like it is in MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA.

The majority of fighters who earn $1 million a fight wind up being losing propositions for promoters. And while few feel sorry for promoters, there are no fights without the promoters.

That’s why, coming off this coronavirus pandemic that has completely upended the business, fighters are going to have to take less than they’ve traditionally earned.

Among the problems boxing faces in in the U.S. is relatively tepid TV ratings, poor ticket sales and an almost non-existent pay-per-view market. When fights resume, they’ll be in closed venues with no audience, which is only going to increase problems for promoters, most of whom lose money on the vast majority of their shows.



Terence Crawford, the brilliant and unbeaten WBO welterweight champion, made a remarkable statement during a podcast interview with Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Crawford said he’d need to make more money if he fought without fans.

“ ... If it was to happen, then they have to pay me more. You know, they have to pay me more because fighters of my status and on my level, we get paid for the people that’s coming there as well. So, you know, if I can’t get paid off of people coming, then I’m gonna have to get paid up front.”

The money simply isn’t there, and Crawford’s view, and the view of others similarly situated, is selfish. Where does he think this money is coming from? His words are ridiculously short-sighted and display an ignorance of the way the business works.

He sells tickets when he fights in Omaha, Nebraska, his hometown, but he’s not a draw anywhere else. And he’s a complete bomb when it comes to selling on PPV. He didn’t sell 100,000 pay-per-views for his fight last year against Amir Khan, when he was guaranteed $5 million plus a percentage of the PPV sales. He sold similarly poorly in his PPV bout with Viktor Postol.

The sport can make a comeback if it makes the fights the fans want to see on a regular basis, makes deep, evenly matched cards and spends time and money on advertising.

Fighters like Canelo Alvarez and Anthony Joshua are worth what they earn because they bring in tremendous amounts of money. But they are two of the few who do that.

And while no one is asking these fighters to be paid like paupers, there has to be some kind of an adjustment given the devastation that has been wrought on the sport. If Crawford, for instance, were to get a $3 million guarantee and a better deal on the upside, he’d have more incentive to help sell the show, which in turn would make the business better for everyone. It would also enable the promoters to spend more money on a deep and talented undercard with competitive fights.

When the NHL returned from its lockout in 2005, it made a number of adjustments to make the sport more fan-friendly. Boxers need to be a part of that, as well. Fighters used to making $5 million may have to accept $3 million, and those making $3 million may have to take $2 million instead. They’re hardly living like paupers at those figures, but the money is more reflective of their value.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/pan...192528689.html

[TIC]

how many fighters will use this as an excuse for a tune up fight?