So I've been hobbled recently (torn achilles) and was sitting around the house bored. I decided to write an email to some of the boxing powers in the sport. It actually gave me a chuckle but hey, I can vent, and that's why they have support channels! Anyways, here it is... feel free to comment, edit, whatever! To whom it may concern, I have been a fan of fight sports for as long as I can remember. I love boxing passionately. A good fight is a good fight in my eyes. Now, to the reason I am writing this letter: the sport of boxing needs to correct itself, before the market “corrects” boxing. There are so many issues in the sport that it has become nauseating. That is why I am trying to contact the powers that be so I can at least get some results. One glaringly obvious issue is the sanctioning bodies. These “organizations” need to realize who they are and know their position. Their respective belts have become virtually worthless in terms of recognition, and they do nothing but dilute the sport and ostracize “legitimate” champions. Mandatory challengers are worthless when the rankings are so absurd, and the sheer audacity of opposing unifications is laughable. Do the heads of these entities have incriminating photos or audio recordings that allow them to place this strangle hold on the sport. Unify or be ignored. Uniformity and consistency among the rankings is a necessity. If this can’t be accomplished then why have “rankings”? Ignoring another organization’s champion in one’s rankings is justifiable how? That respective champion DOES exist! Fix it! To the promoter’s and networks: What gives? Why do consumers such as me purchase premium channels (HBO, Showtime) for combat sports when you end up putting most on PPV? This comment is mostly directed towards HBO, but Showtime definitely should expand its boxing budget! Furthermore, can we stop all the bickering… promoters must work together to put on great events. All this “in-house” promotional crap has got to stop. Do I really need to address the quality of recent PPVs? Just thinking about recent undercards makes me upset. I should add that I appreciated the effort on the JMM-Diaz rematch on Golden Boys part. However, mental note: please no more Rocky Juarez and Casamayor on PPV, or HBO for that matter. What’s sad is that there is plenty of money to go around and if you make the right fights the fans will come! Greed, overpaying for certain match-ups, and obviously just a plain lack of common sense has decimated this once great sport. To HBO, if you have all the money and are writing the checks, please, just once, put your foot down and ACT LIKE IT. Do some market research; get in touch with your consumer base. It can’t be that hard, can it? To Richard Schaefer and Bob Arum: It isn’t nice to A) insult your consumer base, and B) threaten them if a particular card doesn’t “perform” well you’ll decrease the quality of your events. Ummm, maybe that’s why certain cards don’t do well. Just a hunch. As for judging, referees, gloves sizes, etc.: Where is the uniformity? Doesn’t skill get somewhat brushed aside when one fighter/promo-team dictates virtually all the terms in a prize fight? In regards to judging, if a judge proves him or herself inept at their task they should be flagged. If they put out another disgraceful and blatantly wrong scorecard again they should be banned. Period. These men are putting their lives on the line for our entertainment. At the very least we should give them a fair shake. I could write forever on these subjects but I think you get the point. Due to the disjointed structure (does boxing even have a “structure?” of the “sport” I know it’s hard to get consumer complaints to the right place. So I am emailing this letter the following: Golden Boy Promotions, Top Rank Promotions, HBO, Gary Shaw, Goosen Tutor Promotions, Kevin Iole, and Dan Rafael. I am also emailing the four major sanctioning organizations. Furthermore, I am in the midst of trying to organize the largest online voice of boxing fans possible. This way we can get all of our collective thoughts in one place. I’m tired of paying $200 plus a month to watch fights only to get horrid mismatches, and basically the fights WE don’t want to see. If this letter falls on deaf ears, so be it. Then I will simply attempt to organize massive boycotts of subpar events, cancellation of premium subscriptions for extended periods, and basically whatever else we can come up with, to make sure you get the point. A concerned boxing fan. I was hoping to create some sort of FB page (as I have mentioned before) but wasn't sure if people would sign up. Also, wasn't sure what to call it. One thing I know as a consumer is that there is power in numbers. I hope many of you copy this letter, do what you will with it and email it to! It will take all of 5 minutes. The more that do it, the increased likelihood we will get results. Or am i just living a pipe dream? I am on some strong Norco's but I don't think I'm tripping to hard lol. Sorry for the typos....
