Even in 2015, the backwards and forwards posturing continues to be frustratingly prevalent within the business.
Boxing is among the oldest sports activities there’s and as such carries lots of historical past, baggage and in some senses, old-fashioned methods.
There are numerous unfair and undesirable stereotypes related to the game concerning issues like corruption and fixing, which for my part are completely inaccurate, uneducated and prejudice slurs pointed on the sport in immediately’s time of 2015.
I am unable to touch upon how issues have been prior to now however what I can touch upon is immediately’s time and since I obtained began out in boxing journalism over the previous few years.
The game is now run basically by international TV networks, sports activities administration corporations and sports activities promotional corporations. In 2015, you simply wouldn’t get away with mass corruption in any sport anymore – you would be discovered.
I am not saying that nothing untoward by no means occurs within the sport, that may be naive. However in my view the identical could be mentioned about any skilled sport or any skilled enterprise for that matter.
When cash comes into the equation, there’s at all times going to be unscrupulous people seeking to make a fast buck or take brief cuts.
One factor that I don’t nonetheless exists within the recreation immediately is boxing politics. On this article I can’t identify any names for the aim of equity, steadiness and objectivity.
In a time the place the game is absolutely flourishing once more and on is properly on its method again to mainstream media for a wide range of causes, together with main TV broadcasters investing within the sport once more and the Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao tremendous combat been made, we’re nonetheless persevering with to see lots of large fights not getting made – which is very irritating.
A well-known observer inside the recreation just lately outlined the fashionable day boxing panorama fairly properly I assumed, “It’s annoying that the massive fights we wish are those we’re least prone to see. Welcome to fashionable world of do what you want boxing”. How proper he was.
In immediately’s time you continue to have promoters quarreling, that hasn’t change. What they quarrel over has although. Again within the day boxers have been virtually slaves to promoters’ lower than honest contracts. That is all modified now.
The promoters work for the fighters immediately and are extra motivated by cash than ever, as a consequence of arguably there being much less cash within the enterprise for them in comparison with what they used to have the ability to exploit out of boxers years in the past.
Right this moment’s boxing politics are dominated by phrases and arguments like “A aspect vs B aspect”, “we carry extra money to the desk you then do”, “Your fighter would not do the numbers on pay per view that ours does”, and many others.
Skilled boxing has at all times been a cash enterprise, however now extra so than ever in my view. You might be seeing new age promoters and managers coming via for the time being, within the time of social media and virtually public negotiation.
This has been meshed in with lots of the old fashioned key gamers’ lower than keen nature to simply accept modern-day applied sciences like social media and the web.
Alas, they’ve had no alternative at this stage however typically occasions their egos don’t permit them to have interaction with promoters and energy gamers within the recreation who come from this newer, more energizing, extra clear, know-how drive technology – the place the shopper (the combat fan) expects a greater product than ever earlier than (the very best boxers preventing the very best boxers).
The game of boxing goes via lots of adjustments globally for the time being. Politics will at all times be there sadly, that is simply human nature in any enterprise.
However with the best way know-how and the web continues to affect the game and certainly all sport, I imagine the transparency of those politics will solely proceed to be delivered to the floor increasingly more within the coming years.
Boxing has no alternative however to alter as a result of many different fight sports activities merchandise on the market embracing new applied sciences and extra importantly – placing on the very best fights.
It would although. Boxing has been round for a very long time and in my view, will return to it is glory days earlier than this decade is out.