Howard Clark 42 lost his last 51 fights now terminally ill with dementia.

If you don't have a .5 win ratio you should be taken before the board every season and asked to explain why. I'll be happy if I never see another boring jorneyman fight... and as for the euro imports, they can **** off too.

 

Then explain how you would hold small hall bills? Or let young prospects progress?

I'm all for ensuring a boxer loses his licence if he is not in fit health (physically or mentally) but your comment is absurd. A lot of journeymen although they may loss loads on the bounce know how to defend themselves.

 

MMA cards survive ok without journeyman. The cream rise to the top. 99% of the prospects currently operating in the uk will ammount to nothing in world or even domestic championship terms, whats the point in matching them against one stiff after another, getting them to 20-0 (6ko's) and then seeing there hopes and dreams shattered the first time they step up since the amateurs.

Yes there is the odd exception, Geraint Harvey etc but they are very odd and most journeyman are a danger to themselves. The board need to be stricter.

Small hall shows should consist of up and comer vs up and comer. They would actually be more financially viable if this became common. Prime example- Chris Johnson. A VIP prospect. Chinned twice by Geraint Harvey... What is the point bringing him back yet again via the journeyman route. May as well match him with another prospect. he's got a good dig and would have a chance... instead he fights another 3-4 6 rounders against journeyman and then he'll no doubt get blasted again.

Journeyman are not the nessesity promoters would have you believe, they are simply a tool to build records on, so that people can go 'oh wow i've got 13 wins and 0 losses'. Its all fake. Boxing was in its prime post WW2, do you think any journeyman operated then? Look at the records of the fighters from that time. They fought everyone.

Boxing has evolved into a game of 'preserve the zero', thats not what its about. Its one of the stupidest things i've ever heard. Promoters feel they need the Unique selling point, that been the zero... and its a load of ****. The fighters need to fight other fighters, then the quality will rise to the top. No more smoke and mirrors.

 

I dont like the way the term "journeyman" is being used to describe some of these fighters.

JOURNEYMAN means someone who's GOOD and COMPETENT at their trade, but not exceptional or outstanding.

These guys with 50 straight losses are only good at losing !
They're not "journeyman" when they are guaranteed to lose.
They are simply losers, opponents, set-ups, or even stiffs and tomato cans.
Yes, they need to be protected, abolished even.

 

I agree with you regarding the preserving the "0" but for that to happen it would mean a total overhaul of how fans/casuals see boxers/boxers records. I would love to see that myself but the fact is financially promoters for small shows sell a lot more tickets to a boxers friends/family etc than they do to hardcore boxing fans, say if that boxer lost 2 of this prospect vs prospect fights in a row, the ticket numbers would dwindle and it would become a liability having this boxer on the show. In a perfect world boxing wouldn't be about this but its all down to money. A lot of journeyman with say 5-23-1 records are better than some prospects with say a 10-0-1 record but if they dont sell tickets they dont get the chances, its a shame.

 

Another good point is in one year Peter Buckley was in the top ten earning boxers in this country, if a boxer is not gonna be a top level fighter he can make a lot more money fighting every few weeks and seeing as getting to the bell and making sure he gets hit very little (without much offence) as a win, than a fighter who's gonna fight every few months then get exposed when he steps up a level. These guys need to feed their families. I know for a fact a lot of the journeyman I have seen fight are a lot better fighters than many of the so called "prospects" I have seen come and go.

 

Ticket sales wouldn't dwindle. They dwindle because of boredom. 35 pound to watch bobby jones beat delroy spencer on points 40-36 for the fourth time in a row takes all the joy out of boxing.

60 pound to watch an olympian fight a russian with 6 wins and one loss is equally a waste of time.

Boxing needs valid matches, not journeyman and not imported, manufactured wastes of space.

Make proper matches, develop fighter profile and people with a passing interest might start watching the sport again.

 

Right here are the facts.

Once a year these guys have to have a Brain Scan. If this shows any change from the previous one their liscence is revoked ala what happend to Smith last year.

Peter Buckley was a fine boxer who was nicknamed 'the professor' for his defensive knowledge.

Remember that in a lot of fights with Journyman if it is close the ref always gives to the prospect. They are the life blood of boxing and you wouldn't have a lot of the exceptional talent around without them.

A lot of people commenting on this thread do not appear to know the situation very well. Buckley could look after himself very well and the board were always on his back making him take extra brain scans and everything. He passed with flying colours everytime and legally they cannot strip him of his right to earn a living.

I am all for a boxing pensions scheme such as the one that Senator John McCain was trying to push through in the states. With this in place Ernie Smith may still have been with us today.

 

It wasn't just one year I believe he was regualy in the top ten earners.

 

Good post.

Its not just the promoters who need to stop this fascination with the 0,its also the fans. Look at Pavlik for a prime example.

That being said,its not good for prospects to be involved in wars every month so there has to be a middle ground. Have them fighting guys who will improve there game in some way. Some of the fights our prospects are being matched with are an embarressment to the sport of boxing.

Have the journeymen fight other journeymen. Despite the poor quality,competitive fights are what boxings all about.

 

The '0' is what's ruining boxing IMO

 

Top post :good

 

cheers

 

I agree the 0 is ruining the sport. maybe the fixation with this highlights a lack of depth to the talent pool for this sport in that we have to hang all our hopes on a precious few and therefore safeguarding their record becomes more important. I'm hoping the super 6 may be a way to attempt to redress this with very good boxers in the touney having already clocked up losses. It shouldn't be feared and boxing would be a better sport if nobody cared about the 0

 

The talent pool lacks depth due to the sheer amount of weights and pithy titles.

Discussed how boxing MIGHT look and how it MIGHT make everything more competitive in this thread. Styles would change, a lot of fighters would have to make massive adaptations in their styles, but I think it would seperate the men from the boys

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204006