Semi pro wtf

[Jeff Thomas]

There's no such thing as semi-pro boxing end of

So what do you call it? They are getting paid, vast majority are not white collar office workers and most aren't novices

There are some in the pro game that are snobby towards the white collar/unlicensed game, yet attend the shows. There is a market for the boxing hobbyist, just as there is for Sunday League footy, snooker, golf, and any other sports people like to try. There is no such thing as semi-pro in boxing though, IMO there are 4 types of boxing. Pro, Am, White Collar, Unlicensed.

My experience of two of these are below..

There is a small gym here in Birmingham ran by an ex-pro, with an experienced coach on hand, that stays true to the white collar code, and targets primarily while collar workers although there is a healthy mix of us non white collar lads in there. The shows are ran professionally and are fully insured (over 700 people attended a recent show), with a medical, and all the essential medical assistance at hand that you would expect at a pro show. They match fighters fairly and against lads in the same gym who they can monitor, they make sure you only use a limited range of 16oz gloves for safety, a headguard, a box, a gumsheild, and they also make sure you are capable of defending yourself before letting you even spar, let alone fight on one their shows. The fights are scored the same as the Ams, and they are not training you to kill your opponent, they teach you to box, or in my case they try This is white collar at it's best (& safest), and it works very well. As for the pay, you are worth what you earn in this game at any level.

The above is in contrast to "Unlicensed" shows I have attended where I have watched two lads face-off with 14oz gloves on (who have never before set eyes on each other btw), then as they retreated to their corners before the first bell, the gloves were swapped for 10oz. The fight lasted about 20 seconds. These are basically 500 people, 20 fighters, a few bouncers and that's it, no medical, no St John's, no insurance, no clue who the feck you will be fighting, no weight-ins, no basics. It may as well be in a circus tent. Yes it makes money, and there are many copying the formula now, but it will all end in tears when charges are brought against these "promoters" when somebody gets seriously hurt. This is a bad case of Unlicensed, although there are probably well ran outfits out there, I have not seen one yet.


If you wanted to live the dream, which one would you choose?

Fully insured? With respect I doubt that mate.

[Jeff Thomas]

I'm semi pregnant

You know full well that doesnt make sense

Its not even a proper comparison, some people are too stubborn to change their opinions .

In all reality the unlicensed lads have as much right to call themselves pro's as those licensed by the board, the BBBoC cant decide who is a pro and who isnt, they can only decide who is sanctioned by themselves.

some of you guys that dont like the semi pro tag would be up in arms if they all decided to call themselves pro, no doubt there will be people who disagree with this post but at the end of the day theres a few people who need to get off their high horse and realise these lads have as much right to earn a living as anyone else, in most other countries they would be pro, the only difference is we have a stricter board here, not that im saying that its not a good thing, just that a few people need to open their eyes a bit and realise they are just being stubborn and failing to acknowledge something because of their own personal view, which obviously matters very little on the grand scheme of things.

Good post.

I'd prefer if they called themselves pro to be honest. Sincerely. It's the fact that its dressed up as a progressive platform towards professional boxing by some that I find annoying.

I wish you well Damien your passionate about it and sound like you've got most bases well covered.

[Jeff Thomas]

You can't fault what they do too much though a lot of them make bits of money for charity. They are good nights in terms of entertainment. Some fairly good fighters about.

I hate the fake fights, the terrible mismatches, the pretence of things being more significant then they are. But when none of that happens it can be good fun.

[Yes We Can]

You can't fault what they do too much though a lot of them make bits of money for charity. They are good nights in terms of entertainment. Some fairly good fighters about.

I hate the fake fights, the terrible mismatches, the pretence of things being more significant then they are. But when none of that happens it can be good fun.

Yeah, but what about semi pro boxing?

[damianhucker1]

You can't fault what they do too much though a lot of them make bits of money for charity. They are good nights in terms of entertainment. Some fairly good fighters about.

I hate the fake fights, the terrible mismatches, the pretence of things being more significant then they are. But when none of that happens it can be good fun.

Yeah, but what about semi pro boxing?

[Jeff Thomas]

You can't fault what they do too much though a lot of them make bits of money for charity. They are good nights in terms of entertainment. Some fairly good fighters about.

I hate the fake fights, the terrible mismatches, the pretence of things being more significant then they are. But when none of that happens it can be good fun.

Yeah, but what about semi pro boxing?

[SAPFO]

Fully insured? With respect I doubt that mate.

Not doubting your opinion, but why would you doubt that?

[spudder56]

Fully insured? With respect I doubt that mate.

Not doubting your opinion, but why would you doubt that?

I think you will find that fully insured means Public Liability Insurance which would not cover any injuries to boxers whatsoever so basically there is no insurance whatsoever for boxers on these shows

[damianhucker1]

Fully insured? With respect I doubt that mate.

Not doubting your opinion, but why would you doubt that?

I think you will find that fully insured means Public Liability Insurance which would not cover any injuries to boxers whatsoever so basically there is no insurance whatsoever for boxers on these shows

A lot of boxers now take out personal insurance, still not perfect i admit, but cheaper than a board license.

[SAPFO]

Ah, I get it now. Well the events are as legal, and as safe, as possible.

[spudder56]

Ah, I get it now. Well the events are as legal, and as safe, as possible.

yes the events are legal and safety varies from show to show but no boxer is insured no matter what anybody says coz if they were insured Boxers wouldnt be required to sign a waiver to say that they wont sue anybody should they get injured but in reality legally the waiver isnt worth the paper its written on