Monopoly is hurting British boxing and its prospects

The cut in dates and Sky budget has hurt the amount of money boxers can make in this country no doubt but if Boxing isn`t producing the viewing figures Sky want then unfortunaly I unnderstand why they did that and we would of had the same problem if Hearn and Hatton shared 10 dates each.People slag of prizefighter but it a really good payday for the fighters who enter in it,who come from a variety of promoter/managers.Hopefully in 18 months there will be more dates avalible and some flexabilty in the budget to give another promoter a chance or two once in awhile.The other Promoters need to step up,wazza has his own channel and some of his fighters are inactive so the bussiness model of box nation isn`t working for domestic fighters imo.I would love Hatton to get a 10 fight a year deal on BT to give Hearn some competion that is servely lacking at the moment.There might not be a tv market for the likes if Chris Edwards or Ian Napa to headline shows anymore,thats just the way it is.

 

it's a 'foolish' career move these days because of such truths!

there are dozens of great fighters around the country whom could be brought along if steered right and ALLOWED to fight proper opposition that could advance their positions.

but "the Boy(s)" who run the sport wouldn't dare risk their own and certainly not approve of proper matchmaking, elimination bouts or contention rights, only to lose their invested interests.

Boxing has always been like this, but with so many weights & belts is easier to find an opponent of no concern... but the biggest difference is the potentially great fighter & prospect, many get shuned and can't even make a flippen living like in past days when they could, even if they never got near the top.

Of course it effects young prospects, good fighters and hurts boxing terribly!

 

Boxing is in a transitional period at the moment in the UK. Despite what people on here believe, these TV executives are not stupid. Terrestrial TV, despite decent viewing figures, obviously don't see a significant ROI from Boxing.

Obviously the financial demands from fighters & promoters are not in tune with what the broadcaster is willing to pay. Eventually the promoters will have to get back to the point where there shows generate revenue without TV and things will sort themselves out.

The budget for boxing was slashed on Sky because it wasn't delivering. Its up to Hearn to deliver so that Sky up the budget, which will increase the quantity and quality of the shows and the number of international fights shown. If BT get involved hopefully they will give some new blood a chance. Goldenboy UK or Sauerland UK, rather than recycling the old guard.

I don't think and have never thought a monopoly would be good for boxing, but having 2-3 dominant promoters will be better than having 5-6 in my opinion, and I think its good in the long term if we see Frank, Hennesey & Maloney out of the game.

 

This is a very good post and hits the nail on the head, especially the bolded section....the sport that we love is dying on its feet and all we seem to chat about is TV rights.

 

can you explain your post further Ice. Doesn't make sense.

 

Of course the irony of this is that post World War II until the early 80s, there was a monopoly in British boxing promotions Duff, Astaire et al. The irony being a young promoter with the initials F and W almost single handily broke this monopoly....

 

Tv hurt boxing, ppv non terestrial tv is killing it. Boxing used to be a proper sport like football rugby golf tennis ect. Fighters fought often and were promoted as local attractions, promoters held shows almost weekly and tv was a luxury but not neccessarily needed because fans came out in droves to watch the fight much like they do with all the other sports. Then big tv got involved and big name fighters started fight less often and promoters got lazy relying on tv dates then fighters managers & promoters started cherry picking which pissed off the casual and hardcore fans as a resultt tv viewing figures dropped which left professional in the awful state it is now, a niche sports entertainment business.

Tgats just a brief summary if you were to go into detail you could write a ****ing book. The only boxing that is organized like a real sport is the amateur game, theres no money business or entertainment involved its purely sports competition.

Unfortunately pro boxing will never go back to the way it was and will never opperate like the amateur game so promoters are going to have to get with the times vis the internet, Coldwell has the right idea with his website/app now other promoters have to take it to the next level. Its the only way they can survive

 

It would be better if the 6 prizefighter dates were given to Hatton, no prizefighter and no monopoly.