Core problem:- Let’s start with some of the core issues which are giving this sport a bad reputation and affecting its popularity.
- Who’s the A-Side:- Too much focus on being the A-side. Certain Fighters emphasise so much on being the A side so that they can dictate the negotiations, decide what their opponents get paid, decide on who walks in first and last, and what gloves their opponents should wear. This is the core problem in the sport. In a way, you can call this bullying an opponent. The fact that fighters and promoters are having too much of a say over other fighters with each of them having their own set of rules affects the negotiation of the fight which eventually leads to the fight not happening.
- PPV model:- From a fan perspective, Boxing has become an expensive sport to watch. The PPV model has not been working due to various reasons for quite some time now. PPV prices are extremely high for certain fights with some of those matchups and undercards not even competitive which doesn’t sit right with fans and hence most fans do not buy PPV. Some Networks started the monthly/annual subscription model streaming all fight’s at a reasonable price similar to Netflix which was a decent move but the fact that they later deviated from that model by charging additional money for existing subscribers for certain fights was a bad move and disappointed lot of fans including myself. Imagine Netflix charging an additional fee to existing subscribers for certain shows which are extremely popular, the number of subscribers they would lose would be crazy. Also, the reason why networks are forced to take this approach is merely down to 1 fact certain fighters are demanding crazy money for every fight and the fight itself is not generating that kind of money. Networks are then forced to meet fighter demands and to generate this money, they then deviate from their existing business model and charge those additional bucks from fans. Networks need to find a balance between what they need to pay to fighters and what should they charge to fans based on what fight would generate. Also, not every fight is PPV-worthy, every fighter needs to understand this. The fact that fights are now being moved to the Middle East instead of the United States clearly shows that no one can match the kind of money fighters are demanding except one place Middle East.
Who’s to blame:- The blame has to be shared collectively by Sanctioning bodies and the boxing commission since they allow fighters and promoters to have too much of a say.
- Sanctioning Bodies:- need to take more control over the sport. First, they need to start by scrapping all belts in each weight class and rather be 1 weight class 1 belt or if they want to follow the current system with 4 belts then first they should get rid of the nonsense like a franchise, super, interim champion and many more of those terms. Then they need to be the ones deciding on matchups, purse and PPV splits based on rankings and who the champ is. Also, they need to restrict fighters from exploiting loopholes like paying their mandatory ordered opponent a step aside money so that they could face someone else for a bigger paycheck.
- Boxing Commissions:- needs to be more responsible and answerable. Talk about instances like the Margarito hand wrap controversy or the Mayweather-Maidana gloves controversy clearly shows that someone didn’t do their job and fighters had to intervene and call out the wrongdoings. So commission needs to be careful and not put the fighter’s life in danger. It’s the job of the Commission and they should not let any fighter or promoter have a say no matter how popular or big of a PPV star the fighter is.
- Judging system:- The commission needs to sort out the mess within the judging system. I did not say much about this topic. If you want to see how messed up the judging system in boxing is, go after any fights on Twitter and you will see what I am talking about. In recent times you would have heard of a judge named Byrd and the way she scored GGG-Canelo 1 or check scoring in Taylor-Caterall, Bradley-Pacquiao 1, Horn-Pacquiao, the list is never-ending. The commission needs to hold judges more accountable post-fights and have an internal committee to review those judge decisions and see their track records and find if there is a consistency of errors observed, clearly they should not be allowed to judge a fight. If the commission is already doing this, clearly it’s not working and they need to think out of the box and work on how they can make use of certain technologies like VAR(Video Assistant Referee) to improve judging.
Which division resonates most with the current state of boxing:- Welterweight division? This division has been a fan favourite division for a very long time. For the past 20 years, we have seen the Mayweather-Pacquiao dominate this division and the fact that it took them almost 5 years to get in the ring gave us a glimpse of where the sport was going. Currently, the welterweight division has the same issue with Spence-Crawford being a repeat of the Mayweather-Pacquiao saga when it comes to negotiations. Talk has been going on forever with both blaming each other. Unfortunately, we would get that fight at a point when we don’t want to see it and fighters would make a lot more money than they would have made 3 years back at the cost of killing the sport. Also, champions in their weight class are allowed to compete in higher weight classes without even relinquishing their current belts and they aren’t even undisputed in their current weight class, Spence allowed to fight Thurman at 154 shows the problem.
Best fighting Best:- Boxing fans are crying out loud for this to happen. Let’s talk about some individual sports like Tennis, have you ever seen all-time great athletes like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic fighting over who the A side is or dictating when to face each other or what kind of money the other guy should get? They have a system/organisation where they all have to go through lower rank opponents and have to win to face each other in the semis and finals. sometimes they even lose which is what makes the sport unpredictable and exciting at the same time. The same goes for UFC, the fact that the sport has risen to soo much popularity worldwide in a such short span is purely down to 1 fact, the best fighting the best. There is no shame in learning and clearly, boxing as a sport needs to learn from other sports.
Boxing tournaments:- Boxing already has had a similar model followed in the form of Super 6 tournament in the past and currently World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) tournament but it has not taken off the way it should have due to boxing politics and various other reasons. In a 4 belt era, this is the blueprint to make the sport great again. I am a huge fan of this kind of tournament. Sanctioning bodies should mandate this kind of tournament across all weight classes. This is what we as fans should demand and advocate. The fact that the top guys in the division get to compete against each other with the winner of the tournament getting good prize money and also the claim that he is the best without any rebuttal.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments on additional issues which affect the sport and what should be done in addition to what I have mentioned in making this sport great again.
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