Should effective aggression have more value, when scoring a fight?

By Boxing News - 04/25/2013 - Comments

de la hoya2By Gerardo Granados: There are others factors to take in account to properly score a bout but is it possible to modify the rules in order to benefit the ratings and earnings? A friend of mine asked me if Guillermo Rigondeaux will become the next Oscar De la Hoya just after seen him defeat 2012 unofficial Boxingnews24 fighter of the year Nonito Donaire, but does Rigondeaux future looks so bright and unlimited?

Golden Boy´s fighting style allow him to achieve world titles in six different weight divisions, fame and glory, multimillion dollar purses and became a huge pay per view attraction; but is Rigondeaux fighting style appreciated mainly by boxing purists?

Boxing as a sport is great, it´s in deed a sweet science, it is a martial art that will allow you do defend yourself from a bigger and stronger aggressor. Rigondeaux boxing style is the ideal example on how to defeat that kind of opponent but is it fan friendly?

It is a fact that professional boxing is a business that can generate big revenues for all the involved. The boxing industry is not limited to the teaching of the proper techniques and development of skills of the sport aspect; local gyms look forward to have an income that will allow them to pay the bills of operation; there are many brands of boxing equipment and boxing gear; all kind of paraphernalia related to boxing; many local boxing events around the world; television has a big influence on fans and his goal is to bring good ratings on free events and mainly on pay per view in order to take profit; even Hollywood has had a long time association with the boxing industry and the Rocky movies saga is just one example.

Professional boxing is a show that is bought by an audience that looks for different emotions than the ones that you can get when attending to the opera, ballet or a major chess tournament. The majority of boxing fans watch the fights because they enjoy the controlled violence inside that ring.

A prizefighter fights for money. If the fighter is skilled and has charisma he will be able to earn a million dollar purse, if he has that special personality he will be followed by many loyal fans.

The boxing fans want to watch a thrilling fight, skilled brave fighters who engage and they will pay to do so. The majority of boxing fans can be considered as casual and they are the ones who buy most of the main events.

Many other sports have made modifications to the game rules in order to increase ratings. The NFL protects quarter backs; you should watch video of past quarter backs Johnny Unitas, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach or Phil Sims getting hit after throwing the ball. At the NBA back in 1990 the Detroit Pistons were allowed to play a hard physical defense, how would Lebron James perform versus them? At Soccer find video on Edson Arantes Do´nacimento “Pelé” trying to survive terrible fouls, now a day it is inconceivable to see that Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to get hit that way. But boxing is a contact sport, isn´t it?

Under these premises is it possible to validate the need for the scoring change? Is favoring the effective aggression fan friendly boxing style positive or could it led to fans to stop watching pro boxing? I asked to casual fans if they knew the names of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr., Julio Cesar Chavez, Mike Tyson, Ricky Hatton, Roberto Duran, Evander Holyfield, Manny Pacquiao, Thomas Hearns and Oscar De la Hoya and they knew them all; then I asked the name of Willie Pep but no one knew who he was.

Rigondeaux is an exquisite boxer, really skilled but lacks charisma and his boxing style might not be appreciated by the casual boxing fans. Even his Promoter Bob Arum rushed to give excuses for the lack luster performance of Nonito Donaire; he stated that Rigondeaux boxing style would be hard to sell and already has plans for the loser of the fight. But what about Rigondeaux, can he become a fan friendly fighter?

Previous the fight of Victor Terrazas versus Cristian Mijares for the vacant WBC super bantamweight title they were asked if they wanted to fight Rigondeaux but both showed no interest. It has been reported that it is possible that Terrazas will fight Donaire, why? Is it a more sell-able fight?

The aggressive fan friendly boxing style sells. Defensive boxing style sells less. Is it true? Will the prizefighters be economically benefited if the scoring system is changed and the rating would rise? Amateur boxing will have major rule changes in order to increase the interest of boxing fans but will pro boxing risk to have major rule changes in order to increase ratings?

It is almost impossible to avoid controversial fight scoring, but is it possible to improve the spectacle of pro boxing by favoring effective aggression?



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