A 10-step guide to improving boxing

[revporl]

From the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/queen ... ts-replays

[Coco]

Mostly nonsense.

Written by someone who probably has never seen a fight.

[Terry Dooley]

'As fans, we pay a hundred bucks for fights that happen in the middle of the night...' Aren't 'bucks' American? So why is he paying hundreds of them for fights that happen in the middle of the night when late-night fights are usually broadcast from America and British fans have to stay up for them on a regular basis?

Is he Marty McFly? If so I'd have expected a lot more miskeys.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Total tripe.....

Winner takes all purses - nobody is ever going to agree to that, ludicrous.

[Terry Dooley]

1) No more sanctioning bodies — Never going to work for obvious reasons.

2) Overtime rounds — I'm sure that it was tried and didn't work or was floated and laughed at. A 90-second round would add f*ck all to what had gone before it once they've warmed down. Edit: Martin Supple just told me it was Ron Esset-Sanderline Williams that went to a 13th round.

3) Same-day weigh-ins — Nice idea in principle, but people would work their way around it or risk life and limb to still get down to an artificial weight.

4) Zero-sum purses — What happens if someone gets the piss slapped out of them over 12 then knocked out in the final seconds only to get $0. They'd love that. Imagine if they died or went into a coma, people would be cool with them doing it for nothing.

5) Start fights earlier — I agree, but it would mean shorter undercards and complaints about that so is a double-edged sword.

6) Five judges — We struggle to find three competent ones at the best of times, so no.

7) Allow refs to cuts the tape — Everyone makes mistakes, sometimes lots of them, yet we should expect better from The Guardian.

8) No testing for recreational drugs — I agree, they should be allowed to do them between rounds an' all.

9) No training while suspended — 'This would be IMPOSSIBLE to enforce'. Fixed.

10) Video replays for cuts and fouls — This could work if the number of calls for it are fixed during a given fight.

[Oiky]

A dinlo wrote that

[jamamb]

i absolutely agree on video replay. ive been shocked at the number of ppl who are against it under some imagine scenario where its getting called every 2 seconsds. its already used some places and that never happens. stop nonsensically arguing against something that is good for the sport

it recently got used in the pablo cano-ruslan madiev fight to confirm whether cano was cut by a punch or butt. the ref initially ruled it was a punch but replay made it clear it was a butt and thankfully it went tot the cards instead of cano losing by tko in a fight he boxed well in and thankfully ended up winning

but ive seen guys lose fights in fights w/o replay lose on cuts that were caused by butts but ruled punches....that type of thing just is unacceptable to me.

[Ricky]

They already use video replay do they not? I'm sure they checked the timing of the bell in a recent Rigondeux fight.

The other 9 suggestions are laughable but its a nice idea for a topic.



My wishlist;

1 organisation & therefore 1 set of champions: domestic, continental, world.

Smaller ring,

Lighter gloves,

15 rounds

365 24/7 random testing

2 random weight checks in the 14 days before the fight to prevent draining

[jamamb]

they use it some places (under some abcs?) but defo not all

[smiling assassin]

They already use video replay do they not? I'm sure they checked the timing of the bell in a recent Rigondeux fight.

The other 9 suggestions are laughable but its a nice idea for a topic.



My wishlist;

1 organisation & therefore 1 set of champions: domestic, continental, world.

Smaller ring,

Lighter gloves,

15 rounds

365 24/7 random testing

2 random weight checks in the 14 days before the fight to prevent draining

I think the size of the gloves is fine. This ain't MMA where they can take them to the floor and do other things. They are getting punched and that's it, imagine that happening in smaller gloves there would be a lot more serious injuries imo

[Ricky]

They already use video replay do they not? I'm sure they checked the timing of the bell in a recent Rigondeux fight.

The other 9 suggestions are laughable but its a nice idea for a topic.



My wishlist;

1 organisation & therefore 1 set of champions: domestic, continental, world.

Smaller ring,

Lighter gloves,

15 rounds

365 24/7 random testing

2 random weight checks in the 14 days before the fight to prevent draining

I think the size of the gloves is fine. This ain't MMA where they can take them to the floor and do other things. They are getting punched and that's it, imagine that happening in smaller gloves there would be a lot more serious injuries imo

Boxing needs more knockouts and less decisions. More rounds and lighter gloves will help that.

[Ruthless-RKO]

There used to be same day weigh-ins

[Kilsby]

I'd certainly be in favour of doing away with the draw.

It leaves a unsatisfactory taste all around & must feel like a waste of time for the boxers after a 10 week camp busting their ass!

I'm not in favour of the 13th round though, boxers would have cooled & wound down by the time of a decision has been made.

I'd prefer it to be like goal difference in football. If a fight is deemed a draw it then gets scored on knockdowns, if you had one & your opponent didn't, you win.

If none, or even knockdowns were scored i'd go to power shots landed by the computer-box system to decide the winner. Hopefully this scenario would be rare though....

Or maybe the ref could cast the final vote? Refs are qualified judges by trade.

Anyway, nobody needs draws!

[jamamb]

they did "drawbreaker" rounds in the usa boxino tournaments. it was fun, and the fighters didnt cool down because they knew they could have to fight another round. also had these type of rounds for draws in k1 tournaments

though for a 12 round fight, would another round be allowed?

[littlepug]

Keep things the way they are and appreciate the game for what it is, an imperfect, often breathtaking, often heartbreaking and definitely frustrating sport that pretty much mirrors life itself in a way no other sport can, its the way its always been so why mess with it ?

[Kilsby]

they did "drawbreaker" rounds in the usa boxino tournaments. it was fun, and the fighters didnt cool down because they knew they could have to fight another round. also had these type of rounds for draws in k1 tournaments

though for a 12 round fight, would another round be allowed?

Unfeasible.... At least 5-10 mins passes before a world title fight winner is announced. Bumps and bruises can swell significantly in that timeframe, potentially giving a boxer an advantage and his opponent a handicap

[jamamb]

well its feasible for certain matches and has already been done (ex cojanu vs fountain, lenroy thomas vs estrada). perhaps knowing an extra round could happen could speed the process up?

although tbh i dont mind draws, and sometimes i think there the right result. i watched a 10 rounder from russia the other week that was a draw and any other result wouldve been less fitting

[Nightmare Roy]

Written by a fcuking idiot.

[dalcumly]

Five defeats in a row and the boxer is limited to 4 x 2s until a victory.

[jameswilson]

'Allow refs to cuts the tape.'

Good work Guardian.

[brilo33]

Total tripe.....

Winner takes all purses - nobody is ever going to agree to that, ludicrous.

true mate , if any mug took my red purse that goes with my black loafers ,there be big trouble in little china

[Covfefe]

Same day weigh ins are so dangerous. It wouldn’t stop people cutting weight, it would just make them more vulnerable In the fight.

Most of them are stupid to be honest.

[Covfefe]

Total tripe.....

Winner takes all purses - nobody is ever going to agree to that, ludicrous.

true mate , if any mug took my red purse that goes with my black loafers ,there be big trouble in little china

Best you could hope for is 40-40 across the board and the winner taking the extra 20.

[jamamb]

what about gradually implement more restrictions/conditions ...so we dont go from the current situation to suddenly same day. surely we dont have an unmprovable system now?

[Grilling Machine]

7) Allow refs to cuts the tape

Or maybe the ref could cast the final vote? Refs are qualified judges by trade.

Who are you least scared of, Ref?!

I'm fine with draws, but I think they should trigger a rematch to happen within 3 months if any of the big-four belts are involved. Else belts are taken.