Boxing's Dark Side III: He Got Game....or Gossip? By Shaun Matthews Here is Boxing's Dark Side part III. Last week we talked about people's desire to be famous, and we explained what the world and local population looks like. We did our best to spare feelings, so we didn't get into what the percentages were. Mathematically inclined or not, most people should be able to get an idea. Just know that there's 6 billion people out there, then divide it by the average attendance of your events. Divide it by the listeners, viewers, fan mail, etc. Get that figure, and your fame level is there in black and white. No negotiations. No talking yourself, or anybody else out of that figure. It is what it is. Now if that's a source of tension or embarrassment for you, well, I don't give a ****. We're in the business of saving boxing. Nathan Jessep's type of regime is what's necessary. Old ladies and housewives are notorious for spending their days gossiping with the neighbors. Boredom is obviously the cause of that, and it's understandable. They don't have anything better to do. The more people we talk to and observe, the more we realize how much time is spent on gossip in boxing's extremely small circles. We said that the cause of it was obvious, so we don't need to repeat it. After explaining the astronomically high number of people in the world, I hope that nobody in boxing thinks that there is time to be gossiping, or bitching about what someone else is doing. Big money can only be made if there are big numbers interested in what's going on. There's 6 billion people out there. 305 million people in the USA. How many of them have interest in you? If it's less than 10 percent, gossip and bitching are a waste of time folks. If it's less than 1 percent, and you still feel that you have time to partake in the gossip games, we've identified your main problem for you. If you need help figuring out what your quota would be....you'd need about 30 million interested people to get 10 percent in America, or a little over 3 million people to get 1 percent. If you think that you're a world player, then you need to multiply that number several times, so to prevent depression....stick to the American figure. We've established that anyone can get into boxing, there's no credentials necessary. Given the number of people in the world, is it enough to just be "in boxing"? Sure it might make you feel good to say it, "I'm in boxing." But there's documented proof that people aren't impressed enough to attend events. The commissions aren't a great help either. Many of them have fallen into this same irrational, distorted ego type thinking. If they didn't come up with new medical policies and rules, they'd look like they weren't doing anything. So they make some rules, doodle with the medical procedures, and say that they're the Boxing Commissioner. Don't ever be fooled by this, pro sports have a This content is protected commissioner. With all due respect, Floyd Patterson was the New York commissioner while unable to spell CAT. So being on the boxing commission is a nice way to get attention when you're out for some beers after work, but that's where it ends. But if that attention is what you crave, then it means that you feel a lack of it. What better way to soothe that feeling than to exert a little power, over a room with some pro fighters in it, no less. Everything seems to stem from the no credentials necessary policy. It's gotten so bad, that everybody thinks that they can do everything. That isn't a winning formula though, and because of it, boxing isn't winning at all. Everyone wants to talk at a press conference, it makes them feel important to talk in front....in front of 35 people, or however many are attending. If your speaking skills aren't your strong suit though, it's a bad business move. It's better to put that ego aside for a minute, and hand the microphone to your strongest speaker. If your ego is too fragile to admit that your speaking skills lack, there may be no hope. When boxing is on TV, the boxers are the only ones that people are paying attention to. The referee and commentators are the only other people that are even noticed. Boxing insiders may notice a few people sitting in the audience, but those aren't the people that we need to attract...they're already in. Some people say that boxing is "a tight knit fraternity." If your comparing it to the NFL's "loose knit fraternity", then yes it is. It's not a close group though. It's a relatively small group, but if everyone's in it for themselves, then it isn't a close group. Do promoters want to see the other ones succeed? Do they want to see the other promoters selling out large arenas? After all, it's New England. Wouldn't it be encouraging to see a local promoter sell out the TD Banknorth Garden? It would be good for local boxing, of that there's no question. To get an idea of what your chances are at boxing success, you need to answer that question honestly...to yourself. If another New England promoter sold out the TD Banknorth Garden, would you be happy or mad? Competition is nice, the two boxers in the ring are paid to compete for entertainment purposes. At this point, everybody else needs to compete as one. It's proven. Did you look at the population numbers? Did you figure out your percentage? In black and white is how popular we really are. Something has to change. I quoted the film "A Few Good Men" at the beginning of this chapter. If feelings get hurt, I don't give a ****. Boxing needs to step up. It's plain and simple. It doesn't need it's people telling stories about the great things that they're doing. It doesn't need people pissing and moaning about everyone else in the business. It needs the people involved to up their game. Is it possible? We think that it is. Who knows how much greater things would be if all of the trailer park gossip were replaced with some hard work and idea implementation. Or of course, we could stay on the dark side.
