I'd like to thank Ian and Danny for the great support they've given me since I've been on board. I can only begin the imagine the huge work load they must have had but yet they always found time to respond to my often soppy emails.
Not sure if there is a plan for the YT video channel or not but I have just uploaded a video for Tandy Boxing on my own channel in case anyone is interested? Sparring footage with James Degale is included in this latest video.
reggaereggae wrote:What a shame. I only skim read the article so apologise. But what is / was the main issue that caused the close down?
People not being able to work for nothing indefinitely.
It's an enormous amount of work editing a boxing website - and requires great skill - better to not do it at all, than do it badly, was the vibe I got.
reggaereggae wrote:What a shame. I only skim read the article so apologise. But what is / was the main issue that caused the close down?
People not being able to work for nothing indefinitely.
It's an enormous amount of work editing a boxing website - and requires great skill - better to not do it at all, than do it badly, was the vibe I got.
Fair enough. Makes sense. It must be like having a full time unpaid job!
I'd like to thank those who have given their time towards making such a great site. It has been my main source of boxing news. Amazing commitment to be doing such work for free. The internet, for all its benefits,has created a system where we all expect media to be free. Feel a little guilty for taking boxrec news for granted.
At one point, I was working full time, then doing 2-3 hours research a night, and writing between 5000-10,000 words a week, oh and working on a new and doomed boxing publication whose name shall not be mentioned - I was getting to bed between 3.00 and 4.00 a.m every night - in the end, I thought 'screw it.' I did get to write a book as a result of that, but again, that paid an absolute pittance, given that it was 2,000 quid for 90,000 words, and 2 months of research. That really was the death knell for me.
Ian and latterly Danny did a fantastic job. Editorially the site took a stance, and maintained it, and never compromised its beliefs. It didn't take a back seat to aggressive promoters, lippy press officers who couldn't write a press release to save their lives and boxers who assumed they were beyond criticism.
BoxRec News never tolerated lazy writers who just turned up for their free ringside cred and produced a token effort for the report. They got shown the door, eventually, but not before they were given every chance to appreciate their fortune and to improve their writing if they were interested in developing their skills. Many writers improved significantly following Ian and Danny's guidance.
It's tough going, I toiled a number of hours for the site (not in recent times, sorry) like many others but lost the bug because the sport and its characters drives it out of you. A 'proper' job, family time, my Dad's deteriorating health, long hours and trying to support a son with ADHD & Aspergers takes priority.
Well done folks. Will miss it. But it must be tough, esp the competition for 'eyeballs' on the Internet. And with The Internet user's short attention span and other channels like Twitter, the rewards are small for all involved.
On a brighter note, Boxrec is an invaluable boxing service and used by the industry so hopefully no issues there.
Forum has dropped in posts but I would assume this is a Twitter competition issue that all forums face. BUT the British Forum has the most knowledgeable posters I have seen on boxing.
Sorry to arrive on this thread late, lads. That in itself tells a story.
Some really kind words here, and I'm genuinely moved by them.
Some really accurate ones too - the likes of Gomez, James McDonnell, Terry and Ben hit the nail on the head, quite frankly. It's a huge amount of work for not a huge return. Danny did a cracking job as my replacement but it really is a demanding role along with juggling everything else in a normal life.
I estimate that I put more than 10,000 hours into boxing writing over a decade. I look back now and think 'Why the f**k didn't I spend that time doing something worthy?' But, to be fair, at least I enjoyed a fair chunk of that.
When work meant I had to jack it in mid-2013, it was a relief in some ways. And I have to confess that in the 18 months since I've only watched a handful of fights.
Worse, though, is that I loved writing more than I did boxing...and I've jacked that in too. I hope to get that bug back.
Just to add my two penneth. Thanks for all the kind comments re BoxRec News. It was a privilege to be part of it.
Ian's sign off piece said it all really. Parts of the job were an absolute delight. In particular, working with East Fife's finest Eric Armit, Sir Nelson Stanley-Ogden, Jon Boy's Debutant Watch (Callum Smith is odds on to be DW's first world champion), Martin Supple on saxophones and midgets, Ben Carey in attack mode, Phil Lyndsay's incredible amount of North Eastern promise, Herr Tony Mayger - who conducts a bloody good video interview etc, etc. Well done too to some of the younger writers. Tom McQueen and Matt Gipon did some great stuff, as did septic Michael Nashed. iFL TV deserve thanks too - they've provided an incredible amount of content for a lot of websites, including BoxRec News.
Other parts of the job were not so enjoyable, and you very quickly grow tired of them. Sifting through shit, not having the time to write what you want to write because you're having to rewrite bullshit that the originator was getting paid to write, promoters moaning about lack of coverage, Sky's awful ringside show, being bullshitted, not being able to cut to the chase without getting involved in a load of time consuming semi-legal kerfuffle, not having enough hours in the day to do it justice. If you can't do it justice, then there's no point, no matter how much you get paid.
It's a shame that some of the small hall cards won't get the same level of coverage that BoxRec News strived to provide. At one point in 2013, from memory we had 10 out of 12 covered on a very busy weekend. Three or four of the writers were also submitting for Boxing News, which I found hilarious. The weekend was costing them at least £500. We were doing it for f**k all, thanks to the efforts of all the live reporters - Tom Walker and Phil Anderson in Scotland, Steve Wellings and Brendan covering Ireland, Rob the Taff (who can be found over at Ring News 24) in Wales, Altaf in the Midlands, etc etc etc. Massive thanks to all. Ian set up a great network.
Personally, I've covered a lot of cards over the past four years, and was grateful for the opportunity. Ringside tickets ain't cheap, and I wouldn't have been able to go to a lot of the fights that I did, let alone ringside. Thanks to the promoters, the majority of which have always been helpful and courteous.
Most importantly, as Ian mentioned, is that I've made some friends over the past four years. As well as the aforementioned, it was a pleasure to attend shows with Will Hale and Bernard Miller - best boxing snapper bar none, and a very good writer to boot. Dug me out of the shyte on numerous occasions when I was supposed to be in three places at once, and ended up telling a better story than I could have done. In between taking pics. And he bought me the best hamburger I've ever had.
I'll be raising a plastic glass full of fizzy excel piss to what Ian and the chaps achieved at the Fury v Chisora card, which I couldn't resist. It'll be the first card in a while where I won't feel guilty going for a slash. What's the betting one of the main two fights doesn't happen?
It does happen though, you go from being a fan and loving boxing - to getting involved and seeing the other side of things - and that becomes the focus of most of your boxing-related thoughts to the point where the actual 'fights' become secondary.
I hope he regains his bug.
Second this, massively.
Have to agree, following the business of boxing avidly, and writing about it for several years, definitely left me feeling very very jaded about the sport - and I'm nowhere near the fan I used to be.
I still enjoy a really good fight, but they seem to be few and far between, certainly the big ones - the fact that Mayweather v Pacman never happened also contributed to my feelings of disappointment, it should have been the biggest fight in that weight since Leonard fought Hearns, even bigger, but if it happens now, it will be something of a damp squib.
Unfortunately also, there's ZERO money in writing about boxing, even if you write a successful book, you're never going to get remotely rich doing so - and there's only a handful of well paid gigs writing for the papers - and even then you have to cover other sports as well.
Boxing websites only make money for the people who run them, and even then, not that much, and they rely on the hard work, dedication and good will of a host of unpaid writers, who eventually realise that they need to get their heads down and put their energies into a real career - so there's a limited tenure.
I had some great times covering shows, and enjoyed working with the likes of Ian McNeilly, who I rate very highly indeed, and is a writer of great integrity, but ulitimately, I came to realise that writing about boxing was a one way street, and took up huge amounts of my time. That is what finally limits the success of all of the boxing website out there - nobody can afford to pay their writers.
This is me. I wrote a blog site for a while, just to scratch the itch when I wanted to but it took too much time as I wanted to run it like a site. Then I thought, just do print stuff, but it lacks the immediacy of feedback you need to keep plugging away for a not a lot.
I will always miss writing about boxing, I miss the buzz of knowing stuff, of being ring side, of meeting people and they say "oh yeh, I've read your stuff" or when you tell them you've watched x train from six feet away or met so and so.
Most of all its the handful of articles I felt stood comparison with most.
Great joy.
But I'm also wise enough to know half-way in was far enough, because all the way in - as the editor job obviously was - was a short-cut to disillusionment with the sport, with writing and you lose the love of watching a fight, just watching.
Best wishes to all the contributors to the news site.
