BoxRec

Adam Smith's English is atrocious. I understand he's trying to hype the fight, but "The biggest heavyweight bonanza since Lewis dominated Tyson"?? Excuse me? Bonanza? "A crackling heavyweight encounter?"

Come on. These are just plain wrong. It sounds so cack-handed. He needs someone to write his stuff, he really does.

But it did get me thinking, why do we need promoters at all? Surely they're middlemen who just aren't needed in these days where big fights will or will not be made based on whether TV is willing to pay for them. Adam Smith and Sky are selling this fight in Britain.

I mean, surely, the TV should just be the promoter all the time, and the promoter relegated to being a manager or a packager or fights? The undercard fighters usually bring their own fans, and it's the hype on TV, and the marketing done by TV, that brings the rest of the fans and gets folks to watch. I think promoters, when they have fighters signed for one house, just mess things up by complicating the matchmaking, and, often, taking a cut that doesn't need to be taken.

Equally, TV needs to just say, "these are the fights we want, these are the fighters we want to promote," and negotiate terms with managers, who usually, in this country, are the promoters anyway.

How do fighters get noticed by the TV companies, will it only be amateur stars that make it? Are they going to be as keen to build up a fighter for long term gain?

What about non televised shows?

I understand what you are saying and in a way it's good that TV are taking more of a role but it's currently certainly not helping your average Saturday fight night (non PPV shows).

And I think Adam Smith is improving but still cringeworthy 75% of the time

Good old fashioned dust up
Sizzling match up
Teak tough
Engrossing encounter
Hardened southpaw
Experienced campaigner

Seems like Sky try to shoehorn in phrases like they are meeting quotas of 'buzzwords'.

It does seem when a TV company is putting on a press conference as well as running and designing all the advertising etc there isn't much need for a promoter but the roles are less traditional, they take on the role of manager, matchmaker etc as well now.

Couldnt be more wrong, promoters are a vital part of the fight game!! As is a matchmaker,manager and coach!! Take one away and the rest will fall apart IMO..

All a TV company does is cash in on a promoter's hard work and early investment. TV isn't interested in fighters who aren't pretty much stars already, it doesn't invest in prospects who have yet to turn pro.

And Adam Smith's English is precocious.

'The biggest heavyweight since Hoss from Bonanza'

Didn't Hoss's dad have 'a teak tough Mexican' wife?

Scottrf wrote:Good old fashioned dust up
Sizzling match up
Teak tough
Engrossing encounter
Hardened southpaw
Experienced campaigner

Seems like Sky try to shoehorn in phrases like they are meeting quotas of 'buzzwords'.

Don't forget "machismo" whenever a Mexican is fighting.

McGuigan's old stock phrase was "teak tough". Not forgetting "tenacious"

Hoss's younger brother, Little Joe, was precocious from what I remember.

We should have a sweep on how many times its mentioned that Cleverly has a maths degree and / or they make a pun during the fight, usually attributed with "working out" his opponent etc... goes hand in hand with comments about mexicans machismo or from the hard streets of <insert american city name>

Wales! Mean streets, surely fella!

Let's open a book on Braehmer: "Steely", "Machine-like", "Ice man", "Precocious".

And in a Commonwealth fight on the undercard there will be an "African warrior" known as "The Lion of add country". This fighter will also be "Precocious".

Now they also use Prizefighter as a way to introduce a fighter - spinned as a positive, but not always the case.

"And he's up against former prizefighter contender Ali Adams", even heard a fighter being dubbed in a subsequent fight a "former prizefighter quaterfinalists" - oh right - so he lost his only fight in the event.

Wales wrote:We should have a sweep on how many times its mentioned that Cleverly has a maths degree and / or they make a pun during the fight, usually attributed with "working out" his opponent etc...

I did it in a boxrec article to review the Mag 7 to see if anyone would notice the OTT maths references......

"Then the show-stealer Nathan Cleverly excited fans with a slugfest stoppage victory over the previously unbeaten Karo Murat, who is Iraqi-born but boxes out of Germany. After recently graduating with a Maths degree, Cleverly stepped into the squared circle, and added to his impressive unbeaten record. Fans may have previously been divided about his ability to go on to fight for world honours pre-fight but after that display Cleverly has surely silenced his subtractors."

Maybe i'll get a job with SKY now?

How long before "the precocious former Prizefighter substitute"?

And nice work doctor! You are a precocious talent sir!

Glyn Leach wrote:Wales! Mean streets, surely fella!

Let's open a book on Braehmer: "Steely", "Machine-like", "Ice man", "Precocious".

And in a Commonwealth fight on the undercard there will be an "African warrior" known as "The Lion of add country". This fighter will also be "Precocious".

Braehmer - 'ruthlessly efficient', 'blitz(krieging) his opponents', 'annexing the ring', 'I'll get my Mantel'

African - 'mystery man', 'grew up on the tough streets of Bukem' (even if he's never been), 'highly rated by that greatest of all African warriors, Azumah Nelson', 'has a record of incredibly dubious provenance but it's accompanied by a letter of approval from his national boxing board - which they were paid a fee for producing - so that's all right'

Precocious McKenzie

I just thought of a really bad one!

You forgot mccrorys- well it really is you know or nelson growling and rolling of the Tongue !!

King Geedorah wrote:

Glyn Leach wrote:I just thought of a really bad one!

Don't be shy, buddy. Share it with the group. We're here for you, John, we believe in you, baby! Listen to the father. Just listen to the father.

That's got to be some of the worst corner work in history - Duff telling (imploring) Mugabi to listen to the priest...wtf.

orbtastic wrote:

King Geedorah wrote:

Glyn Leach wrote:I just thought of a really bad one!

Don't be shy, buddy. Share it with the group. We're here for you, John, we believe in you, baby! Listen to the father. Just listen to the father.

That's got to be some of the worst corner work in history - Duff telling (imploring) Mugabi to listen to the priest...wtf.

I never understood why Mickey Duff was allowed in the corner by the boxers/trainers, he was there purely to get his smug mug/ comb-over combo onto the telly.

Scottrf wrote:Good old fashioned dust up
Sizzling match up
Teak tough
Engrossing encounter
Hardened southpaw
Experienced campaigner

Seems like Sky try to shoehorn in phrases like they are meeting quotas of 'buzzwords'.

It does seem when a TV company is putting on a press conference as well as running and designing all the advertising etc there isn't much need for a promoter but the roles are less traditional, they take on the role of manager, matchmaker etc as well now.

you forgot to put them in itallics.

smith talks in itallics. always putting emphasis on some cliche or other. used to hate it, but he seems restrained next to the commentators for HBO ("bang bang bang bang bang") and showtime (always some reference to "rock 'em sock 'em robots").

I'm pretty sure he had a trainers license too, which allowed him to do that.

TrainSPOTTER's Orb, easy mistake

Scottrf wrote:Good old fashioned dust up
Sizzling match up
Teak tough
Engrossing encounter
Hardened southpaw
Experienced campaigner

Seems like Sky try to shoehorn in phrases like they are meeting quotas of 'buzzwords'.

It does seem when a TV company is putting on a press conference as well as running and designing all the advertising etc there isn't much need for a promoter but the roles are less traditional, they take on the role of manager, matchmaker etc as well now.

I can see their train of thought and i'm sure they all sat down as a group and went through an ideas storm to determine their direction of travel