Ringside idea...... Opinions?

[Jeff Thomas]

Can you put sone girls in- not sire how or in what context but sone girls would be great thanks ed

[Emmseegee]

I enjoy the current set up but just think that if there was more humour involved etc it would bring in new fans aswell. At the moment the show is great but it's people like ourselves that watch it who are hardcore fans. The gimmicky stuff appeals to the average person on the street and would advertise boxers and upcoming fights to these people which in the long run would surely benefit boxing in general.

Were not suggesting that the show becomes humorous from start to finish. Just a wee 5 mins thrown in somewhere, even if it used upcoming amateurs to promote them a bit also!

Just suggestions, can see clearly already that there is. Obviously a lot of mixed feelings here! Lol.

[Chris W 1982]

What would it take to get viewers' calls onto the show to speak with your guests?

Boxrec's forum is a wonderful way for boxing fans to ask some of their favourite domestic fighters their opinions on a wide range of subjects. Carl Dilks, Liam Cameron, Paul Smith and Tony Bellew have always provided interesting insights into theirs and others careers and it largely provides users of this site with fascinating and fun threads.

Itd be a bit like "You're on Sky Sports" but it wouldnt obviously be a direct audience interaction show. Just a few boxing followers asking boxers/trainers/promoters a bunch of questions

[SweetLikeSugar]

Just thinking a few things that would be interesting on ringside.
Something similar to top gears list of the fastest laps ringside could make a circuit of some sort and let fighters attempt it while they are in camp and make a list of the quickest.

Also maybe for a laugh add one of they punch bag machines into the studio and let guests try it. Lol.

I like the shows current informative style but a wee 5-10 mins a week of humour/friendly competition could be interesting also!

Anyone agree?

I'd love to see something like this but it would have to be something with very, very limited chance of somebody picking up an injury. Imagine if a fighter missed out on a big payday by getting injured punching a machine. Something with a skipping rope would possibly work, maybe something similar to Soccer AM's skill school where we have two lads doing their best tricks with the rope and then other people in the gym vote for a winner. Or maybe something as simple as most number of reps in a minute, then you could put all the times on some sort of leaderboard.

[leforge]

Can you put sone girls in- not sire how or in what context but sone girls would be great thanks ed

Women doing a striptease!

[Scottrf]

The first show (or at least the first I remember - in relation to the Mag 7) was everything I didn't want Ringside to be, focused only on the fights Sky were showing the following weekend; basically a promotion tool. Perhaps this was just because of the amount of upcoming fights that weekend, but it's improved massively since.

Seems they have taken advice on board; featuring non-Sky boxers (Froch), Tris Dixon was/will be a good addition.

On the Dan Rafael interview; it consisted of asking one man what America thought of our boxers. I know he is in boxing circles but he doesn't speak for America and it's generalising for him to give any opinions of that type. Some of it was probably an attempt as transatlantic banter but it also stunk of 'look how good we are'. I might be in the minority but didn't get much from it, but perhaps it was the format of the first show of the year; a look at the state of British boxing. He might give more insight into the goings on in the future especially stateside but I don't want it to be looking for an 'American opinion'.

More interaction with the audience isn't a bad idea; asking questions from the audience etc. Not too sure about the 'fun' stuff, if it turns into anything like Soccer AM, I wouldn't watch. I think you have to aim at a smaller audience rather than aim at the mainstream and alienate the boxing fans, it wont get the same audiences of a football program. Would be nice to have a look at prospects around the world, not just UK, although I realise there's limited time. A look at the gyms in the UK, how different trainers work and their stables would be welcome.

[ourkid1984]

I haven't seen the new Ringside coz I don't have sky. But here goes.

1. Celebrity boxing fans on the show - our sport needs more exposure.

2. A speedball or skipping competition (around the gyms) - most in 30 seconds.

3. A prediction league for up coming fights - featuring boxers past and present, other sky presenters and celeb fans.

4. Boxing question before the break, answer afterwards.

5. Knockout of the week/month footage top 3.

All very good suggestions, not exactly original but familiar settings always seems to work on tv.

[Bricks]

ed robinson- i think there should be a weekly section with mcguigan and nelson matching 1 fighter against another on that video gizmo they had in the audley-haye prefight. It was cool and quirky. It should be no more than 100 seconds with a clock counting down, and both guys (nelson &mcguigan)standing up in front of it and plenty of back and forth jibes with either taking an extreme viewpoint on why their fighter would win.

Second please can johhny nelson wear less tight clothes, i know its an odd point but its distracting when he's sitting on that stool i keep thinking the blokes trousers will burst any second now.

Lastly i know there is little mainstream boxing press these days but could we have a ringside spinoff on the format of the great sky football show sunday supplement, where football hacks get together over a breakfast table and look at the latest newspaper stories. With boxing i realise there isnt newspaper coverage, so perhaps it should be guys meeting to discuss the latest boxing stories on the internet .A quality cast of boxing writers like glyn leach, bob mee, steve bunce, tris dixon, mcneily, and promoters like maloney,hearn meeting over a table. I would have the feel of the show serious similar to the bbcs hardtalk. The backdrop entirely black with a table with a light shining on it.....similar to the old bbc mastermind set......the talk would be serious and the show 30 minutes initially. It would be a good counter balance to the more jovial matey ringside

[UpperCrust]

As Ringside gets so many top pros on the show I like the idea of some sort of semi competition between them. If only for a minute or two at the end of the show I don't think it would make it too gimmicky. The obvious is the punch bag- but as many have said absolutely out of the question for fighters in case of injury (so much so many of them would only give a half hearted attempt imo making it pointless)

However, I think I've come up with a good idea!! How about one of those reaction testing walls where there are various random lights that come on and as they do you have to touch the light-after you do so the next random light comes on etc. You could see which pro boxer hits the most in a minute. This would be a true test of reflexes (which is obviously a vital boxing trait)

Furthermore, it shouldn't pose a problem space wise, no danger of injury and provides light hearted competition, via a leaderboard, of a real boxing attribute (unlike the omlette making suggestion!- sorry pal )

If you have no idea what I'm referring to see the link below:

http://youtu.be/NO-5qKfcd1k

Any thoughts?

[doctorboxing]

Second please can johhny nelson wear less tight clothes, i know its an odd point but its distracting when he's sitting on that stool i keep thinking the blokes trousers will burst any second now.

I can see that being an important point at the SKY bigwigs meetings in the future.

[Jeff Thomas]

Can you put sone girls in- not sire how or in what context but sone girls would be great thanks ed

Women doing a striptease!

Yes! This is it!!!

Or naked mud boxing... in that little ring at the back. Just going on right through the show- and if they start talking about anything boring like Haye Klitchko negotiations you can press the red button to zoom in on melissa and crystal.

Simples.

[stujones]

The punch bag idea I think would be fun. They did that on the Soccer AM before the first prizefighter and it really got my friends talking about it. Next get together I had with them, they seeked out a punching bag and see if they could beat them!

It could be done maybe in a segment about the saying "the last thing a fighter loses is his punch" - compare retired guests with non retired. Bit of fun.

Although not 100% original, Seconds out on Channel M did something similar. It was just the presenter on the pad and rating the power. I did enjoy that section, good to see the likes of Khan and Murray having a laugh about it... taking some heat of their "rivalary".

[Scottrf]

The punch bag idea I think would be fun. They did that on the Soccer AM before the first prizefighter and it really got my friends talking about it. Next get together I had with them, they seeked out a punching bag and see if they could beat them!

It could be done maybe in a segment about the saying "the last thing a fighter loses is his punch" - compare retired guests with non retired. Bit of fun.

Although not 100% original, Seconds out on Channel M did something similar. It was just the presenter on the pad and rating the power. I did enjoy that section, good to see the likes of Khan and Murray having a laugh about it... taking some heat of their "rivalary".

I think I remember some football player being above Holyfield on the Soccer AM punchbag. Strikes me as a bit pointless.

[Glyn Leach]

I think there's a careful balance that would need to be struck between the Soccer AM-type, knockabout 'lets all have a giggle with our showbiz pals' show and Ringside's solid boxing approach. Personally I prefer the way Ringside are doing things. The problem with the Soccer AM style is that too many of the 'comedy' bits aren't that funny - the good ones are good, but the bad ones are tumbleweeds. I like a solid, straight ahead, fast-moving boxing show.

I can't fault the guests Ringside have had so far, they've been top notch. Wlad, Hatton, McGuigan, DeGale, Adam Booth, Haye, Harrison, and all at the right time, when theirs issues are the ones being discussed. There is a nice news-awareness about the show. I liked the visit to BN's offices to speak to Tris Dixon in the last episode, nice to get some independent and knowledgeable input from a respected source. I have no problem with Ray Feel — a bit of transatlantic viewpoint does no harm whatsoever IMO. OK, last week he was just talking about Brits (which was the theme of the show) and I too thought it was a bit off for him to speak about all our champs bar Ricky Burns. But in future perhaps Ray's segment will be more about the American scene, stuff Sky isn't covering, and he will add something to the show that is currently missing.

My one complaint would be that Ringside does tend 90+% towards fights and fighters connected to Sky, when an across the board, non partisan show in the style of MMA Live, which covers every MMA promotion, would be my preference. But then I understand that MMA Live is an ESPN show and, unlike Sky, ESPN is not directly involved in any of those promotions, making it far easier for the show to be bi-partisan. All in all it's going well though and I'm glad it's back.

[Scottrf]

I agree with you Glyn. Too many 'comedy' features miss, it's such a subjective area. I'd rather they didn't attempt it and focused on boxing. Leavy comedy to the ones who do it for a living, if I wanted to watch a comedy program I would.

What I said in relation to Rafael was in reference not to featuring him or an American correspondent but that any one person can give an 'American opinion' on a boxer. There's no one way everyone in Britain or America feels about a boxer. It's like an American magazine asking you what Brits think of Khan; ask two people and you will get two different opinions, as much in the same country as asking two people from different countries.

[stujones]

I think there's a careful balance that would need to be struck between the Soccer AM-type, knockabout 'lets all have a giggle with our showbiz pals' show and Ringside's solid boxing approach. Personally I prefer the way Ringside are doing things. The problem with the Soccer AM style is that too many of the 'comedy' bits aren't that funny - the good ones are good, but the bad ones are tumbleweeds. I like a solid, straight ahead, fast-moving boxing show.

I can't fault the guests Ringside have had so far, they've been top notch. Wlad, Hatton, McGuigan, DeGale, Adam Booth, Haye, Harrison, and all at the right time, when theirs issues are the ones being discussed. There is a nice news-awareness about the show. I liked the visit to BN's offices to speak to Tris Dixon in the last episode, nice to get some independent and knowledgeable input from a respected source. I have no problem with Ray Feel — a bit of transatlantic viewpoint does no harm whatsoever IMO. OK, last week he was just talking about Brits (which was the theme of the show) and I too thought it was a bit off for him to speak about all our champs bar Ricky Burns. But in future perhaps Ray's segment will be more about the American scene, stuff Sky isn't covering, and he will add something to the show that is currently missing.

My one complaint would be that Ringside does tend 90+% towards fights and fighters connected to Sky, when an across the board, non partisan show in the style of MMA Live, which covers every MMA promotion, would be my preference. But then I understand that MMA Live is an ESPN show and, unlike Sky, ESPN is not directly involved in any of those promotions, making it far easier for the show to be bi-partisan. All in all it's going well though and I'm glad it's back.

In complete agreement, no celebrities friends stuff. Although I wouldn't mind something at the end of the show just to show the personalities of the boxers a bit more, maybe with a good cause at the end of the series. E.g. how about a signed gloved - used by each guessed to hit a pad and then auctioned off for the Gerald McClellan foundation at the end of the series.

I definately don't want a Soccer AM for Boxing.... Cricket AM fails dismally IMO. And Ringside is just an hour - I think they have it just about right, although I would personally love to see highlights from undercard action not part of the telecast the week before. Thats the one thing I miss from its original run. Chris Barnett vs Gary Hibbert was a small hall classic which we saw thanks to Ringside.

[Ezzard]

I do think celeb showbiz fans of the sport coming on makes sense (though keep their slot short) in terms of widening appeal.

The punchbag idea is a good one. I don't think active boxers...better with retired ex-pros and the celebs having a bash.

The show is excellent though. I like Adam Smith's seriousness. Not sure they should pander to the hard of thinking.

[DavidPayne]

If you want a gimmick.......easy.

Pitch two guests against each other on Fight Night for one round or maybe 3 if it was truncated.

The could have their characters 'built' for them in the day and off you go.

Nobody got injured using a PS3 that I recall, though I remember someone missing a cup final when a jar of mayonnaise fell on his foot. So you never know.

[Srebmun]

Is there any option to have a small studio audience? like the Luther Blisset stand on Soccer AM. Give the man on the street a chance to share space/questions with some of the greats/guests.

[DavidPayne]

Is there any option to have a small studio audience? like the Luther Blisset stand on Soccer AM. Give the man on the street a chance to share space/questions with some of the greats/guests.

Nah....prefer a nice varied guest panel than blokes in Rocky t-shirts.

Less Glen McCrory etc and the usual staples......and I'd like to see them expand on the Friar Tuck from the States idea to include other American/Global figures. Can't be too hard to pull off.

[youngrell]

How about the guests contesting a Round or 2 on Fight Night on a PS3 or Xbox, that would lose any injury concerns but would be fun to watch and I'm sure competitive

[Glyn Leach]

Don't think I'm being a miseryguts because I like a laugh as much as anyone, but with only one hour a week being dedicated to a boxing magazine show, I really don't want to see that precious time being wasted on pop stars with only a passing interest in the sport plugging their latest record etc. For me, Soccer AM stopped working as a show once it became as much part of the product-plug publicity circuit as Richard and Judy. For me, a fast-moving fight show with lots of items and strong guests is the way to go.

[Srebmun]

What about people like yourself on there Glyn?

[Scottrf]

What about people like yourself on there Glyn?

Nah, we need knowledgeable guests ;;-)

[doctorboxing]

Don't think I'm being a miseryguts because I like a laugh as much as anyone, but with only one hour a week being dedicated to a boxing magazine show, I really don't want to see that precious time being wasted on pop stars with only a passing interest in the sport plugging their latest record etc. For me, Soccer AM stopped working as a show once it became as much part of the product-plug publicity circuit as Richard and Judy. For me, a fast-moving fight show with lots of items and strong guests is the way to go.

100% this. Ringside is doing well and is a good show for people who actually want to hear about boxing as compared to a general entertainment show. However, everytime I watch it, all I can think is "it's just not as good as Bunce's boxing hour".

Bunce's show was great fun and a good laugh but did not have to resort to celebrity challenges etc. It set the standard for magazine style shows and I think this format worked well - strong guests, fight clips, previews and opinions on the boxing world. Despite everyone doing well on Ringside, I would love for SKY to take a chance on Bunce and Kerr and get the boxing hour going again.