Cleaning up boxing

By Boxing News - 08/02/2012 - Comments

By Mark Havey: I hear it all the time, boxing is dead. I can’t agree with such a intrepid statement. The sport is in fact experiencing a prosperous period. PPV numbers remain high and mainstream media outlets still cover boxing. Nevertheless the sport is in disarray.

Boxers will forever maintain rivalries and that is why boxing will never die. But rivalries between promoters unremittingly damage boxing and future bouts.

I’m going to list a few ways in which boxing could benefit. Firstly is the numerous titles that invaded the sport a long time ago. There have been times when it wasn’t such a problem. Lennox Lewis was the undisputed Heavyweight champion. But fans new to the sport are confused by who is the champion in each weight. It’s easy for hardcore fans to understand who is who, but new fans have difficulty in grasping the fact of multiple champions. I think each weight should have one champion.

Each champion should fight twice a year, and failing to do so results in being stripped of the belt. In case of injury the stripped champion should be granted a title fight within a year of his return, providing he wins on his comeback fight.

a champion- challenger purse should be a set percentage. This may sound unfair and more in keep with a communist regime, but it makes sense. Mayweather vs Pacquiao is a fight that everybody wants and it would be great for boxing, but money is preventing it. With a set percentage of maybe 60/40 designated to the champion and challenger, no one can claim to be entitled to more than their share.

Boxers that consistently refuse to face their mandatory challenger currently are stripped of their belts. I think they should also face a one year ban. It’s unreasonable that they should continue to earn whilst denying a huge pay to a man that has earned it. Timothy Bradley was Stripped of his title for ignoring his obligation to face Amir Khan. He later went on to earn millions by fighting Manny Pacquiao.

Punch stats should be available to judges that score a round even. It’s unacceptable to have three experienced judges that all score a fight differently. the judges often get blamed but they don’t have the advantage of replays, slow motion and various camera angles. I like the human element of scoring, but in case of close rounds the judges should have the option of seeing punch stats.



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