Dana White announces Zuffa Boxing will have its own belt and will NOT recognize the other bodies

I believe we were talking about this extensively in a thread last week. Saudi in sport was all about sports washing. There was a political ulterior motive. Turki and Dana have unironically drank their own koolaid and are destined to fail. I don't think they realise just how much deeper the talent, money and history of boxing is globally. Then again, we were predicting these exact course of events over a year ago.

 

They have been rather unclear with all of it, at least thus far.

 

I guess that you are taking the cup half full view whereas I am looking at what Dana just filled the cup with But yeah I guess if it widens the net and increases the numbers of competitors you might be right.

 

Very interesting. I was impressed with the wbc tournament for newer fighters. That gave us a lot of fights we otherwise wouldn't have gotten, I think.

If they focus on those prospects that otherwise wouldn't get the exposure, there is something in it for the fighters other than money.

We get quality fights, fighters and zuffa get the reputation. I just hope they don't succeed in giving those fighters a lifetime hostage contract.

 

From what I gather (mostly from Eddie Hearn), Zuffa signed a bunch of young, middling, talent and want to put on an ultimate fighter/contender type series. That means more fights, more video footage following the fighters and their stories, trying to build stars and characters out of them. That's not a bad thing and could be interesting.

Also, Saudi Arabia is only paying Zuffa 10 million per year.. they aren't gonna go crazy with their roster for that little.

 

Yes you are correct but the suspicion is that with Turki's backing they want to takeover boxing & turn it into MMA with just 1 promoter controlling in house rankings, belts, & exclusive contracts for fighters

Why? Because they are trying to create something called UBO's & make them exempt from the provisions of the Ali act saying that they want to give fighters more "options". Fighters who want to fight under the Ali act's protections will be able to do so but fighters who want to fight in this UBO will also be able to do so. Both Dana & Ari Emanuel (TKO boss) are very close to Trump with the UFC now explicitly a Trump campaign organization, so they want a return favor from him in making the Ali act toothless

The plan might be for Turki to massively overpay initially to attract top 3 guys to this new UBO they will set up & get them signed to UFC style contracts, then the rest will follow to fight the top 3, once other promoters go under or get bought out (remember TKO which owns UFC & WWE has massive media leverage while Top Rank is still struggling for a broadcast deal) then bring down boxers overall pay to 16-20% of the revenue like it is in UFC

If their intent was only for a contenders type series, then why all this lobbying to get the Ali act done away with?

Also the criteria for who can be a UBO are tailor made for them. For e. g. as per them UBO's need to provide fighters with an institute where they can train, which promoter has that right now? the UFC with its PI's

Listen to this podcast by combat sports journalist John Nash on their proposed changes

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More fights are always a good thing......Hopefully something new is brought to the sport.

But many have came and gone over the years, promising to change the sport then accomplished sweet **** all.

I suspect Dana will fk off back to MMA monopoly once he's blown his money and credibility. The dictatorship approach won't work in the wild West of boxing

 

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Boxing, the business, doesn't run on what the purist thinks, who is an absolute minority.

 

The amount of hardcore boxing fans in the world who actually give a **** about this stuff is minimal honestly. If they make the fights people are going to watch regardless. If anything his presence being attached to stuff will probably make more people watch it by bringing in crossover fans and because he is much more of a known face/name than any boxing promoters.

 

I must point out that this had already been tried in boxing with mob linked IBC of NY that was disbanded by SCOTUS for violating antitrust laws after the US federal gov't filed a legal challenge. This was during the so called "golden age" when the mob ran boxing & after IBC was disbanded we got Ali, Tyson, Monzon, the 4 kings era etc

So in a sense, this will be a 2nd attempt minus the mob but with the federal gov't on their side

THE CASE AGAINST THE IBC
March 23, 1956
by Martin Kane

...The government case rests on a 1955 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren, that boxing is a business in interstate commerce and therefore comes under the antitrust laws.

That decision permitted the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice to move against IBC on allegations that it had bought control of boxing championships, bought out competitors, acquired exclusive use of the big stadiums and forced championship contenders to agree that, if they won the championship, they would fight only for IBC. Through these means, the government contends, IBC has become boxing's colossus, promoting 80% of championship bouts in the period involved (June 1949 to May 1953, for purposes of the suit), with revenues in that period of more than $7 million. The extent of the IBC's control of champions—and the lucrativeness of that control—are set forth in the tables, from the government's brief, on the opposite page and on pages 28 and 29.

In addition to controlling the championships, of course, IBC promotes nonchampionship bouts, including the big television shows on Wednesday and Friday nights.

By controlling the champions—in all but the flyweight and bantamweight divisions, which are no longer important in the United States—IBC has been able to force the loyalty of lesser fighters, managers and copromoters. For if a fighter wants to get a crack at the championship some day he must be an IBC-pleaser as well as a crowd-pleaser. If a promoter or a manager wants an occasional IBC-TV fight he must be an amiable fellow.

But if the government wins its case, then championship fight promotion will be wide open to competition. Other promoters will be able to bid for the fighters' services and have access to the big indoor and outdoor arenas where such fights can be staged profitably. Fighters and managers will not have to consider IBC wishes when they sign for a fight in the hinterlands outside its domain. Some good fighters who have found it difficult and even impossible to win national recognition may at last have their chance...

https://vault.si.com/vault/1956/04/23/the-case-against-the-ibc

 

This is so well written. I would like to add that Turki also bought out the Ring Magazine, and that he has a stake in DAZN. DAZN who have been gobbling up as many big and small boxing promoters as they can.

 

I would show more respect to the IBO championship than the ZUFFA champion TBQFH