[bnoles4life]

Interesting article focused on how to entice some of America's wealth of talent, off the football & baseball fields and basketball courts and into the ring. It's a lil' lengthy, but definitely worth the read. Thoughts?


http://london2012.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0...the-fight-game/

[checkleft]

We could start off by not screwing the athletes that are in boxing.

[daprofessor]

i am very familiar with the program and i've watched them do their thing since the very beginning. i was a skeptic in the beginning....but they turned me into a believer. their staff is amazing...and they're churning out real fighters. it's only a matter of time.

[bnoles4life]

We could start off by not screwing the athletes that are in boxing.

Check, as always, a good starting point. lol!!!

[BigFightFan]

You don't have to sale huge ppv and gate numbers to make millions in other sports. That's the main reason why they are shying away from boxing.

[bnoles4life]

You don't have to sale huge ppv and gate numbers to make millions in other sports. That's the main reason why they are shying away from boxing.

True...but that's boxing's own fault. Rather than keep the network "ties" strong, they abandoned it all for pay cable and PPVs.

[BigFightFan]

True...but that's boxing's own fault. Rather than keep the network "ties" strong, they abandoned it all for pay cable and PPVs.

It seems some promoters are going back to the networks, but boxing doesn't have enough perks to lure more athletes.

[Franchize]

We could start off by not screwing the athletes that are in boxing.

THIS! Boxing is arguably the most life threatening sport there is. If you want to entice people to leave other safer sports, you have to at least sweeten the pot. Nobody is going to chose getting beat in the head in AND out of the ring. You have to make the stakes more lucrative. Boxing also needs to showcase guys like Mayweather who are sound businessmen, instead of making it seem like having your money in order is some sort of indictment on boxing. When, historically, your best fighters oft end their career with empty pockets, it doesn't exactly scream "this is a great profession to have."

I think Boxers need to start hiring agents. Manny needs a Drew Rosehaus type asshole who isn't going to take anything less than top dollar from Bob Arum.

[Cshel86]

When I saw the picture of the guy in the article and started reading it, I got this idea of some New World Order, hostile takeover-type plan. Lol. Glad I kept reading though...

Maybe I felt that way because Im used to shifty/no structure in the business portion of the sport, lol. It's almost like one of those "get in and get out" deals...something along the lines of the dope game.

The big guys in the game, live the flashy lifestyle, then either end up dead, in jail, or on that drug. In boxing, you live the high life, and either end up broke, brain damaged, or still fighting when its obvious that you need to hang 'em up...or the extreme...the combination of the 3 (Meldrick Taylor, Holyfield).

Anyhow, as Franchize mentioned, the boxing business makes it seem like some type of taboo if a fighter has their money & business in order, refuses to get fucked, and cares whether or not they can string along an Elementary level sentence when they hang 'em up.

THIS part stuck out for me...

There hasn’t been any investment in anything in the sport. There’s no apprenticeship of trainers. No apprenticeship of cut men. We’re going to look for the next generation: new judges, new officiating, a new way to produce the television program. Boxing looks the same as it has for 50 years. For us, the health of the athlete will come first. We’re constantly monitoring with a physical therapist. We deal with a concussion institute. Sports psychologist. All that stuff.

This is essential in our sport, and that shit is lacking BIG TIME! If I remember correctly, the NFL was going through that nasty bargaining agreement, but ended up making sure that everybody was taken care of. NFLPA Discretionary use of $20M per year for health, safety and former player issues is what I believe will take care of former player with on-going health issues (somebody help me out here).

Anyhow, boxing needs to follow some type of platform, because it is indeed a barbaric sport. The sad thing is, casual fans (and even some hardcore fans) could give a shit about the fighter's health, they just want to see "knockouts". Sometimes I could care less myself, because of the money that some of these guys make. The Golden Rule in boxing is "Protect Yourself At All Times", and anybody nowadays that steps in the ring should know that it applies in AND out of the ring. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

[Cheesey1]

Interesting article focused on how to entice some of America's wealth of talent, off the football & baseball fields and basketball courts and into the ring. It's a lil' lengthy, but definitely worth the read. Thoughts?


http://london2012.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0...the-fight-game/

Definitely interesting. Thanks for posting.

I have some criticisms of the article, but whatever.

Overall, yeah I agree. Boxing needs more structure and investment for the careers of the boxers, their trainers, assistants and the ring officials.

The NBCSports HW fiesta tomorrow's a good look for boxing and Jennings is young and talented.

This post has been edited by Cheesey1: Jun 15 2012, 01:18 PM