The sad state of Seconds Out

[Riddick Bowie]

I visited Seconds Out daily circa 2000 for boxing news and even enjoyed posting on their forum. Have just visited it for the first time in over two decades. What the hell happened? The whole website is now just trashy click bait engagement farming. Pure, undiluted slop.

Here's an example. Rather than posting informative news they run the same scam every time: BIG TEASE HEADLINE (“Eubank Sr Delivers Honest Prediction For Son’s Rematch with Benn: It All Depends On This”), a few paragraphs of filler you already know about (they previously fought; their fathers were rivals blah blah blah), then the limp pathetic reveal in the last line (“If he has been living the life, he could be OK”). Throwaway remarks dressed up as stories over and over again. (Andy Ruiz makes it clear who HE thinks will win Canelo/Crawford: "He's a warrior"! Roberto Duran has no doubt who wins Sugar Ray Leonard vs Sugar Ray Robinson! Amir khan shares inside information from Crawford/Canelo camp. "I'm going for him now"!) They're no longer articles intended to inform, but rather trap a bored click and sell it to an ad exchange. Mindless content engineered with maximum contempt. Christ almighty, it's a long drop from Boxing Illustrated, Fight Game and Boxing Monthly to this.

I pity the reader who gets drawn in as much as I pity the writer who knows it’s garbage and posts it anyway. Is quality boxing journalism dead?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Them boxing YouTube journo's are not what they used to be.

IFL tv, seconds out, fight hype, id boxing, fight hub and many more.

some doing interviews via zoom now days.. They're still in the game and appear weekly..

I think one of the things that have killed them is that media/companies such as DAZN, Ring Mag, promoters youtube channels, are just putting out their own.

DAZN have these weekly posted boxing shows. Boxing scene have their ow, Ring mag have their own.

Why let boxers talks to these 2nd rate journo's when they can do the interviews themselves and post it on their own channels.

Radio Raheem is doing all sorts now as well.

[Riddick Bowie]

Narrative-controlling puff pieces essentially. Very sad.

[SeanBrennan]

is it paid writers on there? Is Seconds Out a proper business? Never been on their website/forum but do watch their YT videos,

[coneye]

what happened to that Michelle chick , did she fall out of favor , or get sick of trying to pull Kugans tongue out of everyones arse

[Ruthless-RKO]

what happened to that Michelle chick , did she fall out of favor , or get sick of trying to pull Kugans tongue out of everyones arse

Sure she started OF during covid.

Hey fight fans

[Boxerbeetle]

Seconds Out used to be brilliant, especially when Thomas Hauser would publish articles on it. Haven’t visited for many years now tho, was on the downslide ages ago, sounds like it’s finally hit rock bottom.

[Riddick Bowie]

Seconds Out used to be brilliant, especially when Thomas Hauser would publish articles on it. Haven’t visited for many years now tho, was on the downslide ages ago, sounds like it’s finally hit rock bottom.

It is unrecognisable. Hauser wouldn't wipe his arse with it.

[veriton]

I used to post on the SecondsOut forum 25 years ago! It was the place to be back then, I can remember writing huge posts defending De La Hoya. There was an American on there who was brilliant, he was called oldmanbob or something.

I think it got bought out and got more corporate and haven't been there in ages

[samwbr]

what happened to that Michelle chick , did she fall out of favor , or get sick of trying to pull Kugans tongue out of everyones arse

Went to law school

[keithmoonhangover]

what happened to that Michelle chick , did she fall out of favor , or get sick of trying to pull Kugans tongue out of everyones arse

Michelle Joy-Phelps? She got sick of all the travelling and, if memory serves, went to college/university.

[KiwiRider]

Narrative-controlling puff pieces essentially. Very sad.

That seems to be the way.
Even these YouTube so called independent types get churned into the machine.
It starts with gaining an audience, then they get a free DAZN subscription, next thing you know they are in Saudi sucking the sandy sandled toes of his excrementcy.
After that you never hear things like;
"This ten round prospect vs ghost show should never be PPV"
"Doesn't Turki lock up anyone who dares speak out about him in Saudi?"
"DAZN must be taking the piss with this card"

Propr Boxing went that way recently, now a Ring/DAZN mouthpiece

[veriton]

That's because the problem with doing youtube videos is you need to be there with a mic in someone's face. That's quite easy to stop if someone up high doesnt like you and then it all turns to dust.

At least with written reports writers can observe and interpret. They dont need to be in close contact with the paymasters. I can remember Glyn Leach saying he watched fights on tv, and he was brutally honest.. he didn't give a fk about a press pass.

[KiwiRider]

That's because the problem with doing youtube videos is you need to be there with a mic in someone's face. That's quite easy to stop if someone up high doesnt like you and then it all turns to dust.

At least with written reports writers can observe and interpret. They dont need to be in close contact with the paymasters. I can remember Glyn Leach saying he watched fights on tv, and he was brutally honest.. he didn't give a fk about a press pass.

Not true.
Plenty of YouTubers just do opinion pieces and use clips of fights etc.

[veriton]

You know who I mean, the video ar5e lickers at press conferences and at the fights who rely on people speaking to them for a living so they actively avoid saying anything vaguely journalistic

[Glass Joe]

i don't watch many YouTubers nowadays. all of them are just publicist for the promoter. I watch the ones who don't care if they are banned or not.

[Bercli]

I used to post on the SecondsOut forum 25 years ago! It was the place to be back then, I can remember writing huge posts defending De La Hoya. There was an American on there who was brilliant, he was called oldmanbob or something.

I think it got bought out and got more corporate and haven't been there in ages

Not true,never got bought out. SecondsOut could have been a massive financially successful brand. Unfortunately,it was not to be.

[Taansend]

what happened to that Michelle chick , did she fall out of favor , or get sick of trying to pull Kugans tongue out of everyones arse

Michelle Joy-Phelps? She got sick of all the travelling and, if memory serves, went to college/university.

She found Jesus

[Taansend]

I still watch IFL TV. I enjoy it. Even Eddie's Schtick - however you spell that word.

I also like Steve Bunce.

I'm not ashamed.

[gilgamesh]

I visited Seconds Out daily circa 2000 for boxing news and even enjoyed posting on their forum. Have just visited it for the first time in over two decades. What the hell happened? The whole website is now just trashy click bait engagement farming. Pure, undiluted slop.

Here's an example. Rather than posting informative news they run the same scam every time: BIG TEASE HEADLINE (“Eubank Sr Delivers Honest Prediction For Son’s Rematch with Benn: It All Depends On This”), a few paragraphs of filler you already know about (they previously fought; their fathers were rivals blah blah blah), then the limp pathetic reveal in the last line (“If he has been living the life, he could be OK”). Throwaway remarks dressed up as stories over and over again. (Andy Ruiz makes it clear who HE thinks will win Canelo/Crawford: "He's a warrior"! Roberto Duran has no doubt who wins Sugar Ray Leonard vs Sugar Ray Robinson! Amir khan shares inside information from Crawford/Canelo camp. "I'm going for him now"!) They're no longer articles intended to inform, but rather trap a bored click and sell it to an ad exchange. Mindless content engineered with maximum contempt. Christ almighty, it's a long drop from Boxing Illustrated, Fight Game and Boxing Monthly to this.

I pity the reader who gets drawn in as much as I pity the writer who knows it’s garbage and posts it anyway. Is quality boxing journalism dead?

All of their headlines are a variation of the same thing.

"Roy Jones Jr. has no doubt who was better between Pacquiao and Mayweather"

"Cus D'Amato had no doubt who was better between Tyson and Ali"

So and so has no doubt. Such and such has no doubt. They love that one.

There's also a lot of

Freddie Roach names the one man who would....

David Haye names the one man who would....

Amir Khan names the one man who would....

Like you say it's just worthless click-bait bullsh*t. The sad thing is, it's not even creative by click-bait standards.

[veriton]

I used to post on the SecondsOut forum 25 years ago! It was the place to be back then, I can remember writing huge posts defending De La Hoya. There was an American on there who was brilliant, he was called oldmanbob or something.

I think it got bought out and got more corporate and haven't been there in ages

Not true,never got bought out. SecondsOut could have been a massive financially successful brand. Unfortunately,it was not to be.

Maybe I'm getting it wrapped around my neck but pretty sure they hoovered up the competition at the time such as Boxing Press.

Cant remember the full details but Anthony Evans was installed as editor (proper boxing man). This was all a long time ago though.

[Frostieballs]

I used to post on the SecondsOut forum 25 years ago! It was the place to be back then, I can remember writing huge posts defending De La Hoya. There was an American on there who was brilliant, he was called oldmanbob or something.

I think it got bought out and got more corporate and haven't been there in ages

Not true,never got bought out. SecondsOut could have been a massive financially successful brand. Unfortunately,it was not to be.

Maybe I'm getting it wrapped around my neck but pretty sure they hoovered up the competition at the time such as Boxing Press.

Cant remember the full details but Anthony Evans was installed as editor (proper boxing man). This was all a long time ago though.

Hi Veriton. Secondsout weren’t a leviathan hoovering up lots of outlets, but they did acquire a website I was involved in with my business partner (and best mate).

Many may not recall it, but BritishBoxing.com was set up just after the Tyson - Julius Francis fight in 2000.

We had a decent run for a bit. Attended every major show in the country (posting live results from a 56k dial up mobile!), ran 2-3 articles a day and got on well with all the major promoters. The Observer Sport Monthly actually labelled us as the heartbeat of the sport. Our forum was also how I first became aware of Spud!

We were young though, had finite funds to expand and I had always wanted to work on the promotional side. We’d got to know Robert Waterman at SO and Panos Eliades (a backer) and they made us an offer which we accepted.

I carried on doing a bit of writing work with the SO team, Ant Evan’s was a writer at the time and Mark Butcher the editor. Good guys.

It had a decent audience, so it’s sad to see that it didn’t explode as it could have done. Particularly as we had a small interest in it!

I think Robert W may still oversee it, but not sure.

[Riddick Bowie]

Not true,never got bought out. SecondsOut could have been a massive financially successful brand. Unfortunately,it was not to be.

Maybe I'm getting it wrapped around my neck but pretty sure they hoovered up the competition at the time such as Boxing Press.

Cant remember the full details but Anthony Evans was installed as editor (proper boxing man). This was all a long time ago though.

Hi Veriton. Secondsout weren’t a leviathan hoovering up lots of outlets, but they did acquire a website I was involved in with my business partner (and best mate).

Many may not recall it, but BritishBoxing.com was set up just after the Tyson - Julius Francis fight in 2000.

We had a decent run for a bit. Attended every major show in the country (posting live results from a 56k dial up mobile!), ran 2-3 articles a day and got on well with all the major promoters. The Observer Sport Monthly actually labelled us as the heartbeat of the sport. Our forum was also how I first became aware of Spud!

We were young though, had finite funds to expand and I had always wanted to work on the promotional side. We’d got to know Robert Waterman at SO and Panos Eliades (a backer) and they made us an offer which we accepted.

I carried on doing a bit of writing work with the SO team, Ant Evan’s was a writer at the time and Mark Butcher the editor. Good guys.

It had a decent audience, so it’s sad to see that it didn’t explode as it could have done. Particularly as we had a small interest in it!

I think Robert W may still oversee it, but not sure.

I remember your site and used it! It had handy records of all the British fighters.

[Riddick Bowie]

I visited Seconds Out daily circa 2000 for boxing news and even enjoyed posting on their forum. Have just visited it for the first time in over two decades. What the hell happened? The whole website is now just trashy click bait engagement farming. Pure, undiluted slop.

Here's an example. Rather than posting informative news they run the same scam every time: BIG TEASE HEADLINE (“Eubank Sr Delivers Honest Prediction For Son’s Rematch with Benn: It All Depends On This”), a few paragraphs of filler you already know about (they previously fought; their fathers were rivals blah blah blah), then the limp pathetic reveal in the last line (“If he has been living the life, he could be OK”). Throwaway remarks dressed up as stories over and over again. (Andy Ruiz makes it clear who HE thinks will win Canelo/Crawford: "He's a warrior"! Roberto Duran has no doubt who wins Sugar Ray Leonard vs Sugar Ray Robinson! Amir khan shares inside information from Crawford/Canelo camp. "I'm going for him now"!) They're no longer articles intended to inform, but rather trap a bored click and sell it to an ad exchange. Mindless content engineered with maximum contempt. Christ almighty, it's a long drop from Boxing Illustrated, Fight Game and Boxing Monthly to this.

I pity the reader who gets drawn in as much as I pity the writer who knows it’s garbage and posts it anyway. Is quality boxing journalism dead?

All of their headlines are a variation of the same thing.

"Roy Jones Jr. has no doubt who was better between Pacquiao and Mayweather"

"Cus D'Amato had no doubt who was better between Tyson and Ali"

So and so has no doubt. Such and such has no doubt. They love that one.

There's also a lot of

Freddie Roach names the one man who would....

David Haye names the one man who would....

Amir Khan names the one man who would....

Like you say it's just worthless click-bait bullsh*t. The sad thing is, it's not even creative by click-bait standards.

Yes it's utter slop, the absolute worst style of content on the internet.

I'd be ashamed to write for it.

[veriton]

Not true,never got bought out. SecondsOut could have been a massive financially successful brand. Unfortunately,it was not to be.

Maybe I'm getting it wrapped around my neck but pretty sure they hoovered up the competition at the time such as Boxing Press.

Cant remember the full details but Anthony Evans was installed as editor (proper boxing man). This was all a long time ago though.

Hi Veriton. Secondsout weren’t a leviathan hoovering up lots of outlets, but they did acquire a website I was involved in with my business partner (and best mate).

Many may not recall it, but BritishBoxing.com was set up just after the Tyson - Julius Francis fight in 2000.

We had a decent run for a bit. Attended every major show in the country (posting live results from a 56k dial up mobile!), ran 2-3 articles a day and got on well with all the major promoters. The Observer Sport Monthly actually labelled us as the heartbeat of the sport. Our forum was also how I first became aware of Spud!

We were young though, had finite funds to expand and I had always wanted to work on the promotional side. We’d got to know Robert Waterman at SO and Panos Eliades (a backer) and they made us an offer which we accepted.

I carried on doing a bit of writing work with the SO team, Ant Evan’s was a writer at the time and Mark Butcher the editor. Good guys.

It had a decent audience, so it’s sad to see that it didn’t explode as it could have done. Particularly as we had a small interest in it!

I think Robert W may still oversee it, but not sure.

I remember British Boxing very well, great site. SO did feel more corporate than what had come before in the hobby sites created by genuine fans. SO also went crazy over Roman Greenberg and I remember some politics creeping in that caused a bit of a storm. All seems so long ago now. I dont bother with online news any more and just stick to BN.



It's sad that everything went the way with video interviews but feels like the quality written word is making a comeback.