[email protected]
Posted: 22 Oct 2004, 06:49
Can this be set up as a sticky?
It is a petition I have set up.
The BBC are going to drop Boxing.
Please air your views, they will be presented to Peter Salmon and Michael Grade.
See copy of my letter sent to Seconds Out at Boxing News, for full details:
Dear Sirs,
Like many other boxing fans, I am gravely concerned about the future of professional boxing in this country. It appears the BBC will withdraw from covering the sport at the end of March while Sky, for so long a great supporter of the game, has now cancelled its popular Ringside programme and switched its weekly live show to a Friday thus denying boxing column inches in the early football-packed editions of the Saturday newspapers.
The BBC’s apparent decision to leave professional boxing has come against a groundswell of public opposition and it seems, in doing so, that the Corporation has ignored a large number of its license payers who, according to its charter, should have their reasonable views taken into consideration. It has even been suggested that, following Amir Khan’s wonderful showing in the Olympics, the BBC will concentrate solely on broadcasting the (cheaper) amateur code.
And yet, even at this late stage, the BBC’s true position remains unclear. Fight fans have continually written to the BBC in protest at its apparent withdrawal, demanding a lucid explanation, but have received conflicting answers and often no answer at all. Some were informed that the BBC will be leaving professional boxing entirely in March 2005 while others have been told it will carry on in a reduced capacity (in the form of amateur boxing only) and that production costs could be the underlying factor in this decision. And some were even told that the BBC will not leave pro boxing, but its coverage will be reduced!
I am one of a large number of fight fans, and passionate followers of the sport, who have become frustrated by the mixed messages and clouded dogma emanating from the BBC regarding the future and long-term health of the sport I love.
There are several questions I have yet to receive a clear or satisfactory answer to and would like to put to the Corporation including:
Is the cost of production the principal issue in BBC’s decision to leave professional boxing, as it believes amateur boxing is a cheaper option?
If the cost of professional boxing were to be lowered, would this have a bearing on the BBC’s decision?
What is the rationale in following an amateur boxer (like Amir Khan) in his unpaid career and stopping before he fulfils his dream in the professional ranks, where the credentials of fighters are measured historically? All amateurs aspire to be successful professionals and to ignore them when they switched codes would be like following Arsenal’s youth squad and not its first team proper.
When someone buys shares in a company they can attend an AGM and present their views – in the case of the BBC this should be in the hands of the public yet, in contravention of the BBC’s Charter, there appears to be no forum where the public can make themselves heard by the powers that be. Just why is there no forum amid the BBC where the public can receive a coherent and official response?
Boxing has provided a genuine role model in Amir Khan (who has done more for race relations than any politician) and Bernard Hopkins (who has shown hard work, dedication and moral fortitude can transform an ex-con into an inspirational world champion). What role models has football provided recently? David Beckham? Wayne Rooney? Or is a petulant and profane tennis player from a privileged background the BBC’s idea as a role model for the youngsters of this country?
The sport continues to aid those trapped at the harder edge of life. Police are now actively using boxing as way to channel the energies of the wayward youth of our society and are turning them away from drugs and crime to a more positive and fulfilling life – is this not a sport the BBC believes should be encouraged?
The BBC Charter says the Corporation needs to be responsive to members of its viewing public and listen to its opinions when they are in the public interest – but at this stage that promise has been ignored by the powers that be.
Some fight fans are beginning to believe that class is an issue in the Corporation’s decision to withdraw from pro boxing and that the BBC is nothing more than a middle class vehicle, existing only to satisfy readers of the Daily Mail with a steady drip of tennis and period dramas.
If fight fans and the boxing trade do not receive a clear and satisfactory answer to the questions posed here, and there is no formal way to make our protest heard, it seems as if public demonstrations outside the BBC might be the only way to make our voices understood. And that is something I, and a lot of other people I know, may be forced to consider.
Boxing fans should be determined to make their voices heard and not go down without a fight. Readers of Boxing News are encouraged to email their opinions, along with their name and address, to an online petition that I have set up to present to the BBC. The address is [email protected] - readers can also ask key members of the BBC for an explanation by emailing [email protected] [email protected] and [email protected].
Together, I have no doubt that the boxing fans of this country can help save the sport we love from extinction before reduced television coverage and exposure makes that a dreadful possibility.
Yours faithfully,
It is a petition I have set up.
The BBC are going to drop Boxing.
Please air your views, they will be presented to Peter Salmon and Michael Grade.
See copy of my letter sent to Seconds Out at Boxing News, for full details:
Dear Sirs,
Like many other boxing fans, I am gravely concerned about the future of professional boxing in this country. It appears the BBC will withdraw from covering the sport at the end of March while Sky, for so long a great supporter of the game, has now cancelled its popular Ringside programme and switched its weekly live show to a Friday thus denying boxing column inches in the early football-packed editions of the Saturday newspapers.
The BBC’s apparent decision to leave professional boxing has come against a groundswell of public opposition and it seems, in doing so, that the Corporation has ignored a large number of its license payers who, according to its charter, should have their reasonable views taken into consideration. It has even been suggested that, following Amir Khan’s wonderful showing in the Olympics, the BBC will concentrate solely on broadcasting the (cheaper) amateur code.
And yet, even at this late stage, the BBC’s true position remains unclear. Fight fans have continually written to the BBC in protest at its apparent withdrawal, demanding a lucid explanation, but have received conflicting answers and often no answer at all. Some were informed that the BBC will be leaving professional boxing entirely in March 2005 while others have been told it will carry on in a reduced capacity (in the form of amateur boxing only) and that production costs could be the underlying factor in this decision. And some were even told that the BBC will not leave pro boxing, but its coverage will be reduced!
I am one of a large number of fight fans, and passionate followers of the sport, who have become frustrated by the mixed messages and clouded dogma emanating from the BBC regarding the future and long-term health of the sport I love.
There are several questions I have yet to receive a clear or satisfactory answer to and would like to put to the Corporation including:
Is the cost of production the principal issue in BBC’s decision to leave professional boxing, as it believes amateur boxing is a cheaper option?
If the cost of professional boxing were to be lowered, would this have a bearing on the BBC’s decision?
What is the rationale in following an amateur boxer (like Amir Khan) in his unpaid career and stopping before he fulfils his dream in the professional ranks, where the credentials of fighters are measured historically? All amateurs aspire to be successful professionals and to ignore them when they switched codes would be like following Arsenal’s youth squad and not its first team proper.
When someone buys shares in a company they can attend an AGM and present their views – in the case of the BBC this should be in the hands of the public yet, in contravention of the BBC’s Charter, there appears to be no forum where the public can make themselves heard by the powers that be. Just why is there no forum amid the BBC where the public can receive a coherent and official response?
Boxing has provided a genuine role model in Amir Khan (who has done more for race relations than any politician) and Bernard Hopkins (who has shown hard work, dedication and moral fortitude can transform an ex-con into an inspirational world champion). What role models has football provided recently? David Beckham? Wayne Rooney? Or is a petulant and profane tennis player from a privileged background the BBC’s idea as a role model for the youngsters of this country?
The sport continues to aid those trapped at the harder edge of life. Police are now actively using boxing as way to channel the energies of the wayward youth of our society and are turning them away from drugs and crime to a more positive and fulfilling life – is this not a sport the BBC believes should be encouraged?
The BBC Charter says the Corporation needs to be responsive to members of its viewing public and listen to its opinions when they are in the public interest – but at this stage that promise has been ignored by the powers that be.
Some fight fans are beginning to believe that class is an issue in the Corporation’s decision to withdraw from pro boxing and that the BBC is nothing more than a middle class vehicle, existing only to satisfy readers of the Daily Mail with a steady drip of tennis and period dramas.
If fight fans and the boxing trade do not receive a clear and satisfactory answer to the questions posed here, and there is no formal way to make our protest heard, it seems as if public demonstrations outside the BBC might be the only way to make our voices understood. And that is something I, and a lot of other people I know, may be forced to consider.
Boxing fans should be determined to make their voices heard and not go down without a fight. Readers of Boxing News are encouraged to email their opinions, along with their name and address, to an online petition that I have set up to present to the BBC. The address is [email protected] - readers can also ask key members of the BBC for an explanation by emailing [email protected] [email protected] and [email protected].
Together, I have no doubt that the boxing fans of this country can help save the sport we love from extinction before reduced television coverage and exposure makes that a dreadful possibility.
Yours faithfully,
i was one of the only fans. 
maybe people are beging to open their eyes and see there will be nothing but mismathes everyweek on other channels, when bbc is gone 
