how can boxing improve

Contrary to popular opinion I thing GBP acquiring the Ring magazine is good for the sport. Something needs to be done to raise its profile in the UK though. I mentioned a few weeks ago, when Jennings fought Cotto there wasn't even a mention in most of the daily newspapers. That really is shocking.

 

I agree with the above comments re the Ring title being a "good thing" but the problem with it enforcing mandatories is that it then has to strip champions who don't fight their mandatories, that leaves them open to criticisms just like the Alphabet Boys. The system they have now of not naming mandatories or stripping champions isn't perfect but its extremely easy to follow and very transparent, keeping them clear of a lot of the contraversies that that plague the organizations.

 

Lads we can talk about 1 world, 1 champion but its all fantasy. There are 4 major belts in alphabet town, the ring, and the IBO is doing its very best to raise its profile to the level of a '5th' belt.

As long as there are world titles out there then people are going to go and look to win them. Ideally you'd have all the organisations rating people fairly but that won't happen either. You can have a WBC champion totally unranked by another organisation. Titles are there to be won and anyone who snaps one up is a legit champion.

Example, who was 'more' the champion at SBW. WBC Vasquez or WBO Caballero?

Then you have someone like Hatton, the best LWW for my money, but all he has is the IBO title now.

It's a messed up, mixed up, complicated business and it is going to stay this way for many a year to come.

My biggest problem in boxing at world level is scoring. Some of the variables in scoring are shocking. How some of these lads get jobs judging title fights is beyond me.

We could easily do a test on here. You could have everyone watch a fight and post their score in a thread. I'd say 90% of us would be within 2-3 points of each other. But you can have 3 judges ringside that can vary by 10-12 points on the high and low end at some fights.

 

How can you improve boxing?

Make all pro bouts scheduled for 12 rounds, 'Winner takes all'..... That would liven things up!:nut

 

more 5o/5o fights even the prospects turning over ...match them hard .

 

i agree. thatz why the ufc is getting massive

ufc is like boxing in the early parts of the last century. the best were forced to fight the best becuase of the old layout

 

Put them in a cage with 4oz gloves on.... match them tough.... Queensberry rules.

 

- the best fighters fight each other
- losers don't make ridiculous excuses
- judges give honest, realistic decisions (that Dunne-Cordoba score was complete balls)
- same weight champions should be encouraged to fight each other
- make an effort to get the press writing about boxing (and Warren, with his connections to News Corp, could easily influence this) by seducing them
- make the events themselves feel like an event: fill the card with quality fights, domestic, euro and world level (not imitations of that); use the video screens to tell stories about the fighters; have a DJ to keep the atmosphere up

 

Yes... good idea about the DJ. The whole point of programs back in the day was to set the scene but they are genrally crappily written.

 

its simple, one champion per division. If they do that everything else will follow.

 

Employ judges who have the priveilege of actually having good vision and are able to see what's going on.

Lower ticket prices for the big shows to make them more accessable (I paid £300 for tickets to Hatton-Tszyu and they weren't even ringside!)

More mainstream exposure on terrestrial television for up and coming fighters, to give them a chance to develop into household names. Example: Jamie Moore should be a lot more well known than he is.

Better quality matchmaking. Blowouts over unheard of foreign imports benefit nobody.