by Arfan Ali: The dismay at finding out Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao were not going to fight was excruciating and I needed to direct my angry in some direction so here goes
Firstly with the privatization of many boxers if that is such the word needs to stop. In essence they are depriving us of many huge fights that “could have been” and making negations difficult for fights. What I mean by this is every successful boxer has his own promotion company which needs to be abolished. It’s not difficult to understand why a recently accomplished sport, MMA is attracting numbers similar to boxing. They make the fights which need to be seen.
The biggest failure within boxing is the governing body and sanctioning bodies. Why do we have so many and do we need so many. The different organizations cause lack of communication between them and act as a barrier in making fights occur. And what’s the point of five different sanctioning bodies each with CEO and chairman’s sitting at the top of the organization living of the hard work of boxers.
What we need is a radical change in the politics involved in boxing. Easier said than done but we need one governing body and one sanctioning body. We don’t need five different champions at one weight class we need just one. And a proper ranking system which is reflected upon by results.
A good product will always sell it sells it won’t need selling, similar a good boxing fight will sell itself. There should not be the need for a middle man to sell the fight. The sanctioning body should make and sell the fight. Too many promoters within the sport cause a conflict of interest resulting in failed negotiations. It’s become a craze to start your own promotion company. This will also help to reduce fighter’s ego when it comes to the negating table. Knowing you are merely the fighter and not the boss could help.
We also need standardization of boxing contracts eradicating the Pic N’ Mix of boxing contracts to make it easier for fights to happen. A standard weight of boxing gloves, ring size and all the other loose factors which come into play should be applied to reduce conflicts when contracts are made.
Finally, the issue of drug testing should be reviewed to see if there are any flaws within the system and fixed accordingly. There should not be the need for new clauses within boxing contracts on drug testing.
Implementing these policies will eliminate the “grey” factor within boxing and make it easier for negations to take place and reduce if not hopefully eliminate the picking and choosing of fight to suit one boxers conditions.
Innovative ideas such as the super six are a positive move forward in making the top boxers fight. Negations were not easy for the super six but should it really have to be this difficult to make the fights.
With the rant over the sweet science of boxing remains that still attracts its royal members.
Any question or queries contact me on aliarf@gmail.com
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