Being professional

[bripez]

Good post.

It's the best sport in the world when done right e.g. Joshua vs Klitschko or GGG vs Alvarez, but the British small hall scene is, for the most part, one big sham IMO. In some respects it doesn't matter if the public are happy when their man wins but to call it a sport at that level is a stretch.

I agree - it is the best sport and also can be the worst.

I remember a few years ago going to this corporate event thing with work that was also a pro-show. For a bit of interest our table split into 2 halves - one supporting the red corner and the other half supporting the blue fighter.

I decided to join the reds - and the red corner just happened to win all 6 fights on the night.

It seems that unless you have an Olympic medal then you will spend as much time trying to flog tickets to your friends and family than you will training.


The situation with regards to overseas opponents also needs looking at. Last week I was randomly looking through the records section and found a local boxer (say 8-0) who had beaten a Latvian with a record of about 8-30 or something similar.

When I looked into the opponents record, literally every single one of his wins was against an opponent who had a maximum of 3 fights and not a single win, all fights were in their home town of Latvia (presume that it was just local lads in his local gym).

These are obviously manufactured fights to get a few wins on the record to keep the Board and fans happy.

[olij999]

He cant. No football shirts allowed by the board as it helps incite trouble in the crowd. Boys get round it by wearing club badges on shorts etc.

Personally I think it's a stupid rule bit I guess the board have to do something to try and stop the morons kicking off.

Besides which, no one supports Newi Cefn Druids or Total Network Solutions or any other West Wales team

Small point on this - you can't even have the badges on shorts. If Board inspectors spot them, you'll have to cover them up with tape, or wear different shorts. No "football regalia" is allowed ("regalia" is the term in the rules, although it is not exactly commonplace unless you're into heraldry or coronations). Doesn't give us any pleasure to have to deal with such points in the hours before a contest, so it's just easier for all concerned if fighters avoid it in the first place.

Some good advice on this thread (and a lot of it is similar to what was covered when you came for your licence). If you do have any queries, you can always email the area secretary (email address on the board website) or ask the area rep at any show - we're always happy to answer things. And hope you enjoy your Board debut on 24 September.

Good advice, but as a representative of the board don't you think it's quite sad that the lad is being told that the game is essentially one big racket, particularly at the grass roots of the professional game?

You can't make decent money unless you're willing to be overmatched on the road against better quality fighters, often on short notice.
You can't build or develop your skills in learning fights unless you're willing to pay the promoter to bring in someone to lose to you.
The promoters don't actually 'promote' you or the shows - it's your job to flog your own tickets, and if you don't you'll effectively be fighting for free.
You'll never get an opportunity to fight on a decent show or work your way up rankings, regardless of talent, because of the above factors.

My mates cannot believe what i'm telling them when i explain what they're actually watching when they go to local pro shows - 40-36 fight after fight, opponents with no chance or will to win, young fighters with loads of enthusiasm+talent who will never have a chance to fulfil their potential because of boxing 'politics', meanwhile the 'safety obsessed' BBBOC sit ringside staring at out of shape Latvians being used as human punchbags week after week, and everyone claps as the home fighter wins another really fair, legitimate sporting contest

The 'business' of boxing is pretty appalling really.

I get where you are coming from. Just because I am on an Area Council does not mean I think the sport is perfect - far from it. I have sat through some pretty awful 40-36 fights and seen some woeful non-performances by British and overseas fighters alike, so I share some of your frustrations. If a British fighter is not trying or is a danger to themselves, we report it to the local Area for them to deal with (and many journeymen are on reports for every single one of their fights). If an overseas fighter is inept, we let head office know - contrary to what you say, if something is bad, we do not just sit there and do nothing. But I have also seen some wonderful fights on small hall shows, particularly for Area titles. And it's always a positive when a journeyman, British or foreign, puts up a good show and wins - the Sokolowski v Turner fight a few months back was a great example of that, as was Lewis van Poetsch winning by first-round stoppage at Villa. There's room for improvement, but it is certainly not all bad.