By Robbie Bannatyne: Before any sort of revolution can occur their must be a palpable level of apathy towards the current status quo, catalyzing event or sequence of such events that make drastic change not only possible but inevitable.
This holds true for all spheres of society and has been seen in action in the Arab spring a few years ago, which was triggered by Wiki Leaks disseminating masses of confidential diplomatic cables to the mainstream press and public. As much as we hate to talk politics when writing about prizefighting, the two are inextricably linked, and to my mind, internal boxing politics has been the biggest barrier to progress ever since I became a serious fan of the sweet science.
Boxing has reached it’s tipping point with the retirements of Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao, the sports two biggest stars and best fighters of the last two decades. These events have left a gaping hole in the boxing landscape, with the sport now relatively bereft of any truly household names that can transcend the sport into the consciousness of the wider public.
However, out of adversity comes opportunity and any great leaps in evolution or innovation normally are responses to majors challenges or problems with current systems. Instead of lurching into a post Mayweather-Pacquiao malaise, the sport must use these cataclysmic changes to expedite radical reform in boxing.
Just because boxing in contemporary society will always be destined to be more niche than mainstream doesn’t mean that it cannot have a bright future. Boxing isn’t dying, but it didn’t leave the doctors office with a clean bill of health on its last check up either. In the general context of combat sports, boxing’s declining popularity correlates with a sharp increase in the interest of Mixed Martial Arts-which is said to be the worlds fastest growing sport- and in particular MMA’s flagship promotion, the UFC.
However, the ever increasing popularity of the UFC brand and the lack of transcendent prizefighting stars are only two of boxing’s problems.
Seen through the prism of the current political landscape, it is clear that the biggest obstacle to the organic growth of boxing is the ‘us against them’ mentality and toxicity between Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champion (PBC) series and the rest of the rival promoters and boxing broadcasters in the United States. The problem is mirrored across the pond in the UK where subscription based broadcaster Box Nation appears to be fighting a losing battle with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom stable, backed by the financial muscle of Sky Sports. Simply put, these conflicts deprive the fans of seeing the elite fighters face each other with any sort of regularity.
While self interest and greed prevents the rival players in boxing working together to put on the best fights possible, the UFC doesn’t have any such problem. Contrasting starkly with boxings convoluted landscape, the centralized nature of the UFC franchise and the one championship belt per division means that the best have to compete against best constantly.
Forget the protected ‘house’ boxers, with padded records, who take the most financial reward for the least amount of physical risk possible. Losses among elite fighters are not the exception, they are the rule in the UFC. This is fascinating to fans, who are so enticed by changing dynamics and flux of each division. Entertainment is a given in the UFC because the skills sets of both competitors are far more evenly balanced than in boxing, where ‘mismatches’ have become standard fare. You have a fighter like Nate Diaz, with ten career losses, laying out a champion in Connor McGregor like a cold buffet. These shocks and surprises simply do not occur as much as they should do in championship boxing, which has become a lot more banal and bland as a consequence.
The UFC is a business model that will pay off handsomely for Dana White and the Fertitta brothers, who could reportedly fetch up to a $1 billion dollars for a franchise they paid a mere $2 million for. If it makes money it makes sense, and their must be way to split up the pie in boxing so that everyone gets enough to chew on by working together.
One relatively easy change to make, in theory, would be to overhaul the ranking systems of each governing body which are often bizarre and rarely mirror reality. There has to be greater cooperation between the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF to synchronize the rankings so the premier fighters in each division are paired off against each other. Unification clashes could be facilitated by the advent of super six style tournaments to see who is truly king of the hill in each division. This would definitely be a hit with the fans and would drum up enormous interest.
The networks like Showtime, HBO and the various channels used by PBC could be granted an equitable share of the broadcasting rights, and could still continue with their own promotions and events. The best fighting the best breeds excitement, which in turn will give rise to compelling P-P-V events that are actually worth fans putting their hands in their pockets for.
Boxing fans are fed up of being drip fed decent scraps with such scarcity. This meager diet of big fights resulting from the promotional and network cold war is leaving the sport of boxing dangerously malnourished. Bored fans are turning to MMA in their droves. The current incarnation of boxing is unsustainable unless drastic reform is introduced. The wheels of change can be set in motion if fans simply snub fallow fight cards and refuse to part with hard earned cash for sub-par pay per view promotions. If fight cards aren’t up to scratch, don’t watch them. Force the hand of the promoters and broadcasters by demanding entertainment and excitement from their events. That is not too much to ask. And as a fan, I will be more than willing to keep my end of the bargain by paying for P-P-V cards if they promise to be compelling clashes between the elite.
Discontent among pugilism fans is palpable. Let spectator apathy pave the way for a revolution in boxing. Brands like the UFC have boxing pinned against the ropes. The sport can’t continue to roll with the punches, action must be taken to make sure the best are fighting the best on a regular basis. That is the only way boxing can bloody the nose of the UFC and reclaim its title as the champion of combat sports.
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