Help Me Understand Boxing Politics...

Bob Arum is a promoter.Sadly the sport can't rund without them.

Haymon is a well connected manager who gets his guys easy paydays.

I don't think there is a big deal about catch weights?Is there?

 

because the 'promoters' make the sport the business it has become, the same thing has happened in football, it's no longer about true sportsmanship, it's become a business

 

promoters get fighters under contract so they can control the fighter, or investment. then they go about trying to maximize the profit on their investment. this involves protecting him from potential losses, which hurt the profit margin, and matching him with other fighters in his stable so the profit doesnt have to be shared with other promoters.
its a game of monopoly played with fighters instead of property.

 

Catch weights are a useful way of making lucrative fights between well known fighters at different weight classes, but also bring into question the validity of any victory so achieved since neither fighter will probably be fighting at their ideal weight.

In addition the sanctioning bodies will typically sanction only title fights fought at or below a class weight limit. (ie a fight fought at 143 say could be only for a WW belt not a JWW title) This could be seen undermine the title since the heavier fighter is sacrificing a weight advantage vis a vis the title weight and may not be at the best they could for that division.

Say for instance a WW fights a JMW beltholder at 150 and wins, if sanctioned the title would now belong to a fighter who arguably may not have won it if the fight had been fought according to the 154 limit.

Many people (myself included) believe this undermines the value of the titles and is also unfair on the other boxers competing within a weight class. There's plenty of divisions out there all ready, without making more.

On the other hand, there are some very exciting inter-divisional fights that open up at the top level - allowing fights that would not otherwise be made.

 

They say same-day weigh-ins are more dangerous because fighters are too drained, but I think it just makes fighters fight at their true weight.

 

The lack of a single governing body or even set of rules is part of boxing politics. When money is involved, the governing bodies like the IBF, WBC etc compete against each other. They make new belts, interim, diamond, etc because 'title' fights generate more money. Drug testing is negotiable and not black and white: often if a fighter fails a drugs test they get off with a slap on the wrist (e.g. Peterson) which is unacceptable in most sports but most sports aren't run by promoters focusing on money. Then you have fighters promoted by certain networks (mainly HBO and Showtime) who often hype their fighters. Judges and referees can be 'influenced' by promoters and networks or even by hometown fans when money is involved.

Basically it all comes down to money, which is the root of the political/corrupt nature of boxing (and most things in life)

 

youtube.com/watch?v=AclNtusYRIM#t=4m46s

If you can be arsed listening to Todd DuBoef, you can get an understanding that the guys in control of the sport are business men first, fans second. Transparency and quality is pretty much null and void, it's all about money and selling a product to a casual audience.

As far as sanctioning bodies go, they're basically PR gangsters. We give you a crappy belt for a % of your purse, in turn that gives you more leverage and appeal in advertising the fight to casuals.

Arum and Haymon are like slave traders, they literally own boxers. That's why you sometimes see fighters spending more time in the courtroom trying to break contract than time spent fighting in the ring.

 

"Help Me Understand Boxing Politics..."

Boxing Politics..

Why is the sky blue?

What is it that makes women tick?

Nobody will understand this mess, there are politics at all levels, promoters aside you have the mess of the athletic commissions that vary from state to state, then the mess of the Alphabet Belts, that make up the rules as they go along, then you have the TV/Dish/Cable Networks who want to play who's PeePee is bigger?

Then you have promoters who's agenda is greed and ego etc etc etc.

 

Since boxing is'nt a seasonal sport as is baseball, basketball, football, etc.......The business of boxing is to get people to want to see the matchup, thats why it needs promotion, thus promoters.

The bad thing about this situation is that promoters are unlikely to risk their own money if they dont have a multifight contractual agreement with the fighter thats headlining the event.

Because the promoter has invested time and money in promoting a particular fighter, logically that promoter does not want to see the fighter he's built up the most lose.
This situation is why palms are greased to see to it the promoter gets the return on his investment.

Boxing is a money driven sport from top to bottom. Fair play is at the very bottom of the totum pole, routinely disregarded in the sport.

 

The official weighin is what counts. Both fighters must meet the contracted weight agreement. The official weighin is held the day before.

The unofficial weighin is for the purpose of the tv channels and propaganda machines like HBO so that they can have something to say to their viewing audience.
In an HBO televised fight, HBO is who sets up the scales so that the fighters can weighin before stepping into the ring.

A fighter can simply say no and not weighin by that HBO scale. Many fighters have. Mayweather Jr. for example refused to unofficially weighin the night of the fight when he cheated Juan Manuel Marquez on the scales the day before in the official weighin.


Again, a fighter is not under any obligation to weighin the night of the fight, thats for propaganda purposes only.

 

Except that the hbo tried to cut out the promoters.

Promoters are the scum of the earth who rip off fighters, fix fights, rob and steal and buy out judges to make money. Bob arum is the chief crook. And the sooner boxing promoters are done away with along with managers and boxers deal straight with the stations, the better the sport would be.

 

The stations allready promote the fighters that fight on the air for them.
HBO has proven over the years to be heavily biased in favor of their house fighter. They're just as bad as the promoters themselves.

In essence thats what stations like HBO and Showtime do, they hype and promote fighters signed to air on their station.
HBO is just as corrupt as Bob Arum!

Many past boxers have called for a centralized world boxing governing body. One governing body, not many, but its something that looks like an impossibility as boxing is truly a worldwide sport where matchups need promotion in order for it to get out to the people.

Its unfortunate, but thats just the ****ing way it is. In a sport where judges are involved, its the easiest kind for corruption to rear its ugly head. Its hear to stay and thats just the way it is!!

 

In short there are 5 main groups at play in boxing politics


1 Broadcasters -HBO, SHO, CBS etc

2 Promotors - Top Rank, GBP etc

3 Managers -Emanuel Steward (RIP), Cameron Dunkin etc. (are often also trainers)

4 Sanctioning bodies - WBA, WBO, IBF etc

5 Governing Bodies -Various State Athletic Commisions (U.S), EBU, BBBofC etc.

This creates a bewildering array of opportunities for interaction, rivalry and corruption. It gets more complicated still, because there can be considerable overlap between the groups, and their functions especially the first 3. You've already heard some opinions on various of these, but it might be helpful for someone to go through these organisations, and their roles one-by-one. Someone other than me, I mean.