Now that BritishB0xing.net seems to have gone forever can...

[Spud]

Terry - secondsout.tv are stating they have been working on showcasing boxing on the web for sometime - they state they can cope with the numbers etc etc et

The problem they have I think is the lack of money to attract the promoters.

[whiskey]

The problem with legit streams is that your only appealing to the online boxing community.

I have dozens of friends who are mad about boxing, but in their line of work dont have a great deal of access to the internet to be immersed like we all are.

It's these people that make up the numbers all said and done.

There are websites out there already who are streaming full HD 1040p resolution fights for 99p a week.

ESPN, Sky, HBO box office - all the fights are available.

The problems lay in the fact that the online boxing viewer community are all familiar with these sites, so to get them to pay £10 for a 'legit' stream is difficult. Because the legit stream is generally what is on showtime / hbo anyway.

Unless a website was going to have it's own commentators and slightly different content, say interviews, build up etc and actually act like a full blown online TV station, then they wont offer anything different to the illegal people, other than an inflated price.

It's chicken & egg.

Unless a very rich sheik got into boxing and bankrolled it through a couple of years of losses, then it has no legs.

Boxing, when compared to other sports is not a viable business venture for investors. This has been proved again and again by stations reducing or withdrawing from coverage altogether.

[JamesH]

Wow... Have to agree with many of the points here and also hope BBN gets back so I can recover my articles, although like doctorboxing the low quantity in comparison with the regular contributors means I can't grumble too much.

I enjoyed writing for the site. I felt I learnt a lot from Ian who gave writers an unbelievable amount of his time considering his other duties/responsibilities while fending off phone calls/emails from those offended.... I had assumed it was the impact of his other commitments which had led to Ian’s departure but perhaps naivety has caused me to miss a couple of pages! I would say that Ian’s expertise was really the main benefit I got from writing for the site (wish I’d made more use of it now!). With Kev being London based, over the couple of years I was with the site I only covered (aka gained free entry to) one midweek pro show and one amateur show. Kev put a lot of work into the site over the years so of course one would expect he should have first dibs but I'd always held out the hope I might get just one Friday night reporting from ringside at the York Hall.

Still... I very much enjoyed seeing my articles/interviews up on the site and particularly if a debate was generated on the site or here. Another advantage was the contact established with other writers on the site, especially in the case of the two whose work Id always been an enthusiastic reader of, youse know who you are :0) At least my reading of their work may continue, albeit on alternative sites.

I recall a time in the not so distant past where we had an unbelievable schedule for boxing with ITV4 claiming a show a fortnight, Setanta and sky showing fights weekly and the beeb picking up the amateurs. Now I want to get rid of Sky TV out of principal, but I know that I won't despite the fact I have been threatening it for weeks - I just want to be able to watch the little televised boxing that’s left in the UK. Im going to look into some online legit streaming sites and if the quality is ok....... I'll probably still keep sky. Freedom is slavery and all that.

[stujones]

Spud,

I still think Boxing will come good again... ever the optimist maybe - but it wasn't so long ago - when Warren was just with ITV, Hearn seemed to have no interest and neither did Sky... and ITV were stalling on a new contract - and this was pre Setanta.

Now that was a worrying time. I'm sure something will pick up, and with the digital turnover soon - terrestial TV will be less important.

[Spud]

Spud,

I still think Boxing will come good again... ever the optimist maybe - but it wasn't so long ago - when Warren was just with ITV, Hearn seemed to have no interest and neither did Sky... and ITV were stalling on a new contract - and this was pre Setanta.

Now that was a worrying time. I'm sure something will pick up, and with the digital turnover soon - terrestial TV will be less important.

Stu I hope you are right mate!!!

I have always been the optimist so things must be BAD for me to be so down in the dumps concerning the sport.

A lot of sense has been written on here amongst the plain old opinions - I am seriously considering cancelling Sky which sounds as if I am being hypocritcal when I am sounding off my concerns about the sport - its just I do not like to be bullied into a what basically is a monopoly on our sport and in addition the standard of shows is really p*ss poor which stuns me because I honestly thought Sky TV could turn the thumbs screws to up the ante with regards to standards and high profile shows. I really am p*ssed off about things.

Stu - lets face it - the TV has a monopoly on our sport through Sky and as such we should expect nothing but the best - in my opinion its never been worse!!!

Something has to change and do so quickly!!! - I target 3 main areas - The BBBofC who simply should not sanction what can only be described as b*llocks - the promoters simply have to get together - they have to work together - but how long have we been saying that - and Sky TV need to tell the promoters to f*ck off if they put on sh*t shows - and yes even when there are late cancellations show an example of their zero tolerance to mediocrity by cancelling the show if the promoter cannot come up with the goods and put on some previous shows to fill the gap for that particular night.

Promoters, the spineless BBBofC and Sky TV need to get a grip and do so quickly.

[DavidPayne]

There is long over looked paragraph in Mark's new testemant, actually 4:14 for the nerds.

[ArtOfWar]

AJ Liebling writes about the old timers in his day telling him that the sport is dying. The final rites must have been written by Tolkien.

The same things have been discussed as long as i've been into boxing. Boxing is what it is. It's not a well run sport that will ever compete with football, golf, American football etc, but it stutters along at it's own pace. It's always been that way and always will be.

[Captain Hook]

The usual boring Ben, Spud & UK forum drama. Every website those two are on either folds or goes down the drain. Then they start their own websites and these too go down the drain.

What I find boring are people who pop up out of the blue with a clear agenda to have a dig at others who've at least had the balls to try and do something.

well said mate, tossers with six posts who only have one topic they want to discuss and it involves personally slagging someone off

[whiskey]

AJ Liebling writes about the old timers in his day telling him that the sport is dying. The final rites must have been written by Tolkien.

The same things have been discussed as long as i've been into boxing. Boxing is what it is. It's not a well run sport that will ever compete with football, golf, American football etc, but it stutters along at it's own pace. It's always been that way and always will be.

True.

Then we look across at our UFC cousin's and see them going from PPV strength to strength.

The biggest problem our sport has (besides coverage) is the participants worrying about their 'O' being taken.

If more risks were taken between the big guns, instead of filler fights then it would spark it again.

I can still remember laying in bed on the Friday night waiting for Saturday to come as it was Hatton vs Tszyu. It was like being a 6 year-old at xmas. Nowadays the fights being made dont really grab the imagination. Most of the classic fights of recent months have been unexpected. Cotto vs Margarito, Froch vs Pascal for instance. Only Froch vs Calzaghe, or Hatton vs Witter can capture the imagination from the current possible match-ups. I suppose Khan vs Murray would come close, but there's as much chance of that happening as Jacko fullfilling his O2 date (god bless him).

[DavidPayne]

Biggest problem is the permitting of one person to be both a manager AND a promoter.

This is against boxing's best interests, which are best exemplified by the words "evenly-matched fights".

The two cannot co-exist.

It is to neither the fighter, the manager or promoter's benefit to make 50-50 or even 60-40 fights unless the recompense is massive.

Hence cards filled with 80-20, 90-10 contests masquerading as "learning fights" or "building support" etc.

Bradley Pryce has had nearer to a proper sequence of opponents and yet his ledger is often described as "being thrown to the wolves", simply because he's had competitive fights almost from Gavin Down on - now Bradley has some losses but I'd argue he's far more seasoned, has a better notion of his true horizons and ability than say 50 other 'managed/staged' prospects of the past decade ever had.

We're all in awe and wonder at the speed of progress say Tyson Fury is making.

Buts thats how it SHOULD be.

Every fighter is different but generically, I think the manager-promoter factor is the biggest single problem. Of course, Don King showed its easy to get around it with his sun Carl - so you'd never circumnavigate it really.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Sorry never read these forums or read Suzanne's work (except for the odd freelance she had in Boxing News) back then so please excuse my nosyines but what exactly did this Suzanne Nield lady do exactly that got her the boot?

I vaguely remember her being some kind of Helen of Troy figure who launched a thousand bile-filled emails. I think she had literally covered two or three shows when she pulled a Diva style 'Don't you know who I am?' tirade when unhappy with her seat at a show. Happy to be corrected.

There was lots more to it - I think we should be reminded of everything, particularly as that bastard Emerz locked the bennie v flexen thread and spoiled the fun.

I remember covering a show at Wembley, and the boxing news guys weren't even at a ringside seat, and neither was i.

So bloody what? You still get to cover the fight, get your head down and cover it.

[steve689]

Here, here.

I've been stuck up in the rafters more than once.

You're Steve who? Sorry....err....spell that again would you....