$50 million World Boxing Super Series – How it will work

[smashup]

1. Which Boxers will be participating in the World Boxing Super Series?
All professional licensed boxers, ranked in the top 15 of the four official federations, who have previously participated in the Seasons’ chosen weight classes will be invited to the Tournament. Any boxer, or their representative, that fulfils these criteria can contact the World Boxing Super Series or will be contacted directly to be part of the Tournament.
2. How will World Boxing Super Series boxers be chosen?
Boxers rated within top-15 on the current World Rankings in the four main federations (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) will be considered. An expert panel will choose who to invite to the Tournament. The expert panel will be nominated by the board of Comosa and will consist of former pros, journalists, respected experts and people with a strong and respected public connection to the sport.
3. Which weight classes will be in the tournament?
Each season, the weight classes will be decided by Comosa and announced several months before start of the Tournament.
4. How will World Boxing Super Series Match-ups be determined?
All 8 boxers will be seeded by an Expert Panel prior to the start of the Tournament. The Top 4 seeds will be kept apart in the Quarter Finals and will chose their opponent in a live televised broadcast draft gala. The tournament directors will select the location of the fights.
5. When will World Boxing Super Series Seasons take place?
Season 1 is scheduled to commence with the Quarter Finals in September & October 2017 and complete with the Finals in May 2018. The Semi Finals will take place in January and February 2018. Season 2 will commence in September 2018 and follow the same cycle.
6. How many Fight Nights will there be in Season 1?
Each weight class will include 4 Quarter Finals, 2 Semi Finals and 1 Final. There will be 2 weight classes in Season 1, resulting in 14 Fight Nights in total.
7. Where will World Boxing Super Series Fight Nights take place?
The fights will take place around the globe, but mainly in USA and Europe. Seven Fights in Europe will start at 11:00 PM CET and the other seven fights in USA will start at 11:00 PM EST. There will be one World Boxing Super Series fight per event plus undercard fights. Only first class arenas will host World Boxing Super Series events.
8. What happens if a World Boxing Super Series Boxer is injured, or must withdraw from the Tournament?
There will be a pool of ‘Reserve Boxers’, who will be contracted and made public. The Reserve Boxers will always be available at event the shortest notice should a Boxer have to withdraw for any reason. The Boxers on the reserve list will be Boxers who didn’t quite make it in to the tournament, or, who performed well in previous rounds despite losing.
9. Who will Broadcast World Boxing Super Series Fight Nights?
Broadcast deals will be announced in the coming months, but the tournament will get TV coverage around the globe. Comosa has already completed a long term deal with leading sports rights agency MP and Silva who will represent the media rights of the World Boxing Super Series outside the USA. The rights holders will receive plenty of shoulder-programming around each individual Fight Night to promote the tournament, the package available for the fans viewing pleasure will be second-to-none, featuring revolutionary ideas and add-ons, during the build-up to the event in fight week and the event itself.
10. Will there be a World Boxing Super Series Anti-Doping programme?
Yes – all participants will be tested in accordance with WADA standards. No boxer can participate if they are in breach of any doping regulations and testing will run throughout the Tournament schedule.
11. Who will Judge/Referee World Boxing Super Series Fight Nights?
World Boxing Super Series events will be refereed and judged in accordance with the local rules of each fight. All Fight Nights will take place under the jurisdiction of local Boxing and Legal authorities (For example, events that take place in New York will adhere to the New York State Athletic Commission.)
12. Will the WBC, WBA, WBO & IBF (and others) be involved in the Tournament?
All four of the major federations will be invited to play an active role in the organization of the Tournament.
13. Will the Fights be for Championship and/or Belts?
If a fighter brings a title into the tournament this title is respected by the World Boxing Super Series, and the fights where one of the existing belts are on the line will be regarded as a world title fight within the World Boxing Super Series. The world title can then be carried on throughout the Tournament.
14. Which promoters are working with the Tournament?
World Boxing Super Series will seek to work with all promoters, ensuring the best possible Boxers are involved – creating an exciting tournament for fans.
15. Will there be other seasons in future years?
Yes. The Tournament will become an annual event, with different weight classes participating each year.
16. Will World Boxing Super Series Boxers receive prize-money in the tournament?
Season one has a budget of USD 50,000,000 to be distributed to the participating boxers. The break-down of prize-money will be communicated before the start of each tournament but will include bonusses for a win, so that fighters are not simply fighting for a purse but always competing for a ‘prize’ in every round of the tournament – the highest bonus will be paid out for winning the final.
17. What is the Muhammad Ali Trophy?
The winner of each Weight class in each season will receive the Muhammad Ali Trophy. The trophy was designed by Silvio Gazzaniga (the designer of the FIFA World Cup Trophy). It’s named after The Greatest fighter in history, Muhammad Ali, to honour the ‘Greatest of All Time.’
18. How much will Muhammad Ali legacy and name be involved in the Tournament?
The Tournament has been designed to honour Muhammad Ali, his accomplishments and legacy. Crowning new champions each year and celebrating Boxers skills inside the ring serves as a fitting reminder as to how much Muhammad Ali contributed to the sport of Boxing both inside and outside the ring.
19. How can I receive further information on the Tournament?
Everyone will be able to find further information and get news, videos etc. about the tournament on Facebook (www.facebook.com/WBSuperSeries), Twitter (twitter.com/WBSuperSeries) and online at www.WorldBoxingSuperSeries.com. The full website will be launched following press events in Europe. Further information will be disclosed in the coming weeks and months.

[Batman]

I haven't had a chance to read all of the post cuz it's pretty lengthy and I'm supposed to be working.

I did see this today though in the paper, is it 8 fighters from 2 weight divisions in a knockout tournament over 12 months or something like that.

I just can't see that the 2 best fighters of any division will agree to go in for this, surely they 2 best fighters would make a helluva lot more money arranging a fight between themselves rather than going through a tournament.

Also if it was around the middleweight sort of area then you can already count Gingerpubes out because he would have to work within the tournaments ''artificial deadlines'' and we all know how much he hates them.

It's a shame because in an ideal world this is how it should work because it would guarantee the best fighting the best but you can't just create something whack Muhammad Ali's name on it and then say ''win this and you are the best'' wouldn't unifying a division mean more than this?

[Master]

The sanctioning bodies will never allow it.

[Alpha]

These tournaments never seem to go as planned in boxing. Even the Super 6 which is probably one of the more successful had numerous hiccups. It'd be nice if they could get some solid fighters interested. A nice way for some of those 2nd and 3rd tier fighters to advance.

[Fenster]

14 fights in 8 months? Good luck with that. Apart from that it sounds good. Fighters will be ranked in the top 15 by the main four alphabets but with that massive pot up for grabs, plus not having options on the top promoters fighters (if that's true) would surely mean plenty of top names will want a part of it.

The four seeds get to choose their opponent in a live draw. Love to see who thinks who is the weakest link/easy for them.

[smashup]

Richard Schaefer said his two preferred weight divisions would be Cruiserweight and Featherweight as they don't get much attention

The former Swiss banker has partnered with promoter Kalle Sauerland to put on this tournament where the ultimate winners could earn $10M+. There are still some details to be hashed out though since the weight classes haven’t been determined. Schaefer mentioned that he’d like to highlight historically neglected divisions, with cruiserweight and featherweight discussed as potential options with reporters.

Lomachenko could literally drop back down a weight and bag some easy money



http://www.badlefthook.com/2017/3/10...50m-tournament

[Nameless]

In theory, the idea is neat; you can't really dodge an opponent and the most deserving will win the Graal (and the most dough). One can't dislike that. However, for the whole thing to pan out right, everything must go as planned. EVERYTHING. That means that everybody stays healthy, that nobody decides that he's underpaid and decide not to fight, that nobody gets arrested and so on. The previous super 6 tournaments was very cool but did teach us a few things about the "unexpected". I'll give them credit for the balls they have but in practice... I have my doubts.
Oh, and the company is based in Switzerland; I am curious about the taxes they'll pay.

[Alpha]

Are promoters like Golden Boy or Top Rank going to want to work with Schaefer? How will purse splits work if a titleholder enters? There are many areas where this already starts to hit walls.

[powerpuncher]

I love these ideas. Obviously things can go wrong, but even if the absolute best fighters in each weight class aren't in it, it will still be good. Imagine the fighters ranked 5-15 somewhere in the tournament. That's still very interesting to me.

It may have to start like that and if it is successful enough, then bigger fighters will be involved in the future. Maybe that is why Schaeffer is trying to get weight classes without any stars in it. Like cruiserweight. Which fighter there would turn down exposure and a big payday?

[Alpha]

I love these ideas. Obviously things can go wrong, but even if the absolute best fighters in each weight class aren't in it, it will still be good. Imagine the fighters ranked 5-15 somewhere in the tournament. That's still very interesting to me.

It may have to start like that and if it is successful enough, then bigger fighters will be involved in the future. Maybe that is why Schaeffer is trying to get weight classes without any stars in it. Like cruiserweight. Which fighter there would turn down exposure and a big payday?

Yeah that's what I was saying in my first post in this thread. A good way for those fringe types to advance their careers.

[powerpuncher]

I love these ideas. Obviously things can go wrong, but even if the absolute best fighters in each weight class aren't in it, it will still be good. Imagine the fighters ranked 5-15 somewhere in the tournament. That's still very interesting to me.

It may have to start like that and if it is successful enough, then bigger fighters will be involved in the future. Maybe that is why Schaeffer is trying to get weight classes without any stars in it. Like cruiserweight. Which fighter there would turn down exposure and a big payday?

Yeah that's what I was saying in my first post in this thread. A good way for those fringe types to advance their careers.

Boxing needs to have a reason for people to watch. There are too many fighters avoiding each other now for either personal or promotional reasons. Tournaments are a good to make solid fights that will keep fans interested. I remember that ESPN tournament they did a while ago that Willie Monroe won. Even that was entertaining.

If you watch a fighter enough times, you just become interested in them. Tournaments will make you more interested in fighters that you may never have paid attention to before (ala Monroe).

[Mr140]

Been out for a while the last big light heavy weight fight really turn me off boxing but this sounds pretty good. I really like to see were they are going to go with it will be watching it.

[Alpha]

I love these ideas. Obviously things can go wrong, but even if the absolute best fighters in each weight class aren't in it, it will still be good. Imagine the fighters ranked 5-15 somewhere in the tournament. That's still very interesting to me.

It may have to start like that and if it is successful enough, then bigger fighters will be involved in the future. Maybe that is why Schaeffer is trying to get weight classes without any stars in it. Like cruiserweight. Which fighter there would turn down exposure and a big payday?

Yeah that's what I was saying in my first post in this thread. A good way for those fringe types to advance their careers.

Boxing needs to have a reason for people to watch. There are too many fighters avoiding each other now for either personal or promotional reasons. Tournaments are a good to make solid fights that will keep fans interested. I remember that ESPN tournament they did a while ago that Willie Monroe won. Even that was entertaining.

If you watch a fighter enough times, you just become interested in them. Tournaments will make you more interested in fighters that you may never have paid attention to before (ala Monroe).

Tournaments if done well have the potential to create an exciting buzz.

I think Cruiser is fine as it is. The top guys seem to face each other quite consistently.

[nuggetdotcom]

In theory, the idea is neat; you can't really dodge an opponent and the most deserving will win the Graal (and the most dough). One can't dislike that. However, for the whole thing to pan out right, everything must go as planned. EVERYTHING. That means that everybody stays healthy, that nobody decides that he's underpaid and decide not to fight, that nobody gets arrested and so on. The previous super 6 tournaments was very cool but did teach us a few things about the "unexpected". I'll give them credit for the balls they have but in practice... I have my doubts.
Oh, and the company is based in Switzerland; I am curious about the taxes they'll pay.

I'm not sure that taxes paid is on the top of boxing fans priority lists, I'd rather buy meals for boxers than politicians.

[Mr140]

Just think it will be great for us to have boxing to watch all the time and start to follow a guy in the tournament. It will build a story line and will make you more invested in that guy if he can win it all pretty good.