BoxRec

I have grumbled about BN on a different thread, and decided if others felt a similar way in that BN aren’t really delivering what they could.

I think the Xmas edition was taking the piss a bit, in so much the priced it as a double and headlined it as a double also.
Sure it had 48 pages rather than the 24 as usual, but like Deirdre always answers,` it’s not the size of it, but what you do with it that counts`.

There was too much amateur pages, the pics were much bigger than usual and there were definitely more of them, and then there was more advertising (which is understandable, to add a little revenue).

Anyway what things do you think would benefit the paper?

Here are my little suggestions.

1. Articles on the lesser known fighters, the almost men of today and yester-year.
These people aren’t going to be the type to demand money for a chat and will probably have just a good a story to tell.

2. How about competitions where the winner wins a trip to a big fight, and gets to write a piece on it.
Again this won’t cost much, press pass gets them in, the promoters would probably help anyway if they don’t get two passes(BN seems to have made up with Franky now anyway judging by some of the responses to the letters).

3. Better organising of the amateur pages.
Categorize the page into England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
Amateur isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but if they are from say Scotland they probably would take the time to read an article if they thought there may be a piece on their local gym in there, instead of the usual Lodge or Repton write up as usual.

I enjoy reading my BN each week and I aim this as constructive critism.
The monthly publications are aimed I would guess at the occasional boxing fan, BN is so popular because it can report news weekly and this I would guess is why it out sells its monthly rivals…but with the popularity of websites the competition is there, offering info and breaking news at a click of a mouse …for free.
BN needs to stay a step ahead of the competition if it wants to continue.
Claude Abram’s wrote a piece on Roy Jones Jr. after the Johnson defeat where he used a good idiom that as well relates to BN.

To stand still at the summit of perfection is a difficult thing, because in the natural course of things what cannot move forward inadvertently falls back.

I love reading it every week (when it arrives on time, which it hasn't done on more than a few occasions) but as with everything, there is room for improvement.

I think the one thing you can't accuse them of is not giving value for money. They do. The amount you get to read every week is more than enough in terms of quantity, but how about the quality?

Well, I really like how they set out their 'big fight' part, they usually provide a huge fight report with notes from ringside which is really good. I enjoy reading the letters page, no problems there. The opening news pages are always good in my opinion as well.

One thing that sometimes annoys me is the amateur coverage because if I'm honest, I don't give a damn about the amateurs. But some people like reading about the amateurs, in fact some guy wrote in to the BN recently asking for MORE amateur coverage. It's all opinions, but I really like it when they analyse individual weight divisions. For example, this year they did a special feature on who was going to figure in the heavyweight division in the next year. They also did a feature on the top cruiserweights, covering their strengths and weaknesses and also bits on their main rivals etc. I would like to see more of this. They also did a special feature on Hatton's potential opponents in the LWW division which was a good read. (not that he'll fight any of them).

I would also like to see more interaction from the people who write it, for example each reporter gives rankings for each division monthly, or gives a top 10 pound for pound list every month or couple of months.

In summary, I will always buy the paper no matter what because it is by far the best boxing publication out there and is value for money in my opinion. And while improvements to the paper itself could be made, the biggest improvement would be getting the BN to me EVERY friday!

tonyevs wrote: Sure it had 48 pages rather than the 24 as usual, but like Deirdre always answers,` it’s not the size of it, but what you do with it that counts`.

Deirdre Barlow?

Yes - sack Jim Brady

mrbassie wrote:

tonyevs wrote: Sure it had 48 pages rather than the 24 as usual, but like Deirdre always answers,` it’s not the size of it, but what you do with it that counts`.

Deirdre Barlow?

No, Dear Deirdre

mrbassie wrote:

tonyevs wrote: Sure it had 48 pages rather than the 24 as usual, but like Deirdre always answers,` it’s not the size of it, but what you do with it that counts`.

Deirdre Barlow?

I thought it was rather camp of myself to mention the Eurovision song contest on this forum a while back, but now the Street has been mentioned aswell.

I think the most important thing is ensuring the paper is in the shops EVERY friday and delivered to subscribers EVERY friday. This is made even worse by Sky moving their boxing to friday nights as a late BN renders a lot of the paper useless. I have given up buying it if it isnt on time. I've lost count of the number of times this year its been late.

More features also, but with a little imagination. As mentioned above features on exciting dicisions and things like that always make for a good read. Regurgitating interviews with Ali or Ali opponents is not imaginative.

At the end of the day as others have pointed out the fight info is available for free so BN needs to do something to keep hold of its readers. I think they've failed to deliver in the last 12 months mainly because of the lateness issue and need to pull their socks up or readers will be flocking away.

And finally dont take the piss out of your readers. The Xmas 'double' issue was a disgrace as it seems to insinuate double content but that was not the case in the slightest. 11 pages of amateur was an absolute joke.

when I fold BN the centre pages always fall out. Pisses me right off.

More interviews....

More articles about up and coming UK fighters...

How about a promoter focus where we get info on a promoter coupled with an interview with him/list of shows he has produced that year....future plans etc...

Same as above but a trainer focus with interview details of his stable IE fighters...his plans,training techniques etc..

A fighters training diary much like Dynamite dean did for Uppercut..indeed why not get Dean to do this for BN..

A fighter focus on old fighters on each week as there are thousands to go through not just the well known fighters that way younger readers would get up to dat with the old fighters.

Articles on the history of boxing which could be done in chapters...again everyone would benefit especially the younger readers...

I have hundreds of ideas...

Hardhitters11 wrote:A fighters training diary much like Dynamite dean did for Uppercut..indeed why not get Dean to do this for BN..

Yes that would be interesting, they couls also do a simular thing with Boxing trainers as well, like Ringside used to do for a while

Hardhitters11 wrote:A fighter focus on old fighters on each week as there are thousands to go through not just the well known fighters that way younger readers would get up to dat with the old fighters..

I've been saying this for years, a regular feature on lesser known champions and contenders would be great.

Another thing how about World top ten ratings from 10, 25, 50 years ago this week? The NME used to a simular thing with the music charts which I always enjoyed.

Yeah the Ring magazine does that and I always enjoy perusing that!!

Hardhitters11 wrote:Yeah the Ring magazine does that and I always enjoy perusing that!!

Many years ago The Ring also did Amatuer ratings, I remember seeing the likes of Marvis Frazier, Tyrell Biggs and James Broad in those listings.

The Ring is an excellent magazine and I always buy it even though its out of date by the time we get it!!

Why was there to much Amateur pages? I like Amateur boxing if i want to read Pro Boxing news i use the Internet. Its new every hour.

Amateur boxing coverage is very poor, so the more the better else there will be no point me buying it!!!

More competitions.

Someone mentioned the paper falls apart when opening, yes this is a HUGE problem for me. Nearly all of mine are falling apart, probably because of them being sent by post. But it shouldn't happen, they should use another method of sticking the pages together or something, anything so that it actually stays in one piece!

DK2112 wrote:Someone mentioned the paper falls apart when opening, yes this is a HUGE problem for me. Nearly all of mine are falling apart, probably because of them being sent by post. But it shouldn't happen, they should use another method of sticking the pages together or something, anything so that it actually stays in one piece!

Ditto. I often read mine on public transport, so have to fold it up. Unfortunately it usually ends up in bits when I get home.


One note about the feature on fringe contenders of the past, etc: make sure the person who is writing it is well respected. Personally, I often skip over these types of features if I don't know who's writing them, and am not familiar with their judgement. Strange as it sounds, I think their views on the modern game, and on modern fighters, determines the quality of their historical analysis.

A lot of guys who focus solely on the past tend to get too caught up in the past and fighters' careers become mythical and fairytale-like, often when they were anything but. This is why I have only ever read a handful of boxing biographies.

DK2112 wrote:Someone mentioned the paper falls apart when opening, yes this is a HUGE problem for me. Nearly all of mine are falling apart, probably because of them being sent by post. But it shouldn't happen, they should use another method of sticking the pages together or something, anything so that it actually stays in one piece!

Totally agree the ones I have from the 40's and 50's are in better condition than the ones from 2004!

Kev

ABA Boxing wrote:Why was there to much Amateur pages? I like Amateur boxing if i want to read Pro Boxing news i use the Internet. Its new every hour.

Amateur boxing coverage is very poor, so the more the better else there will be no point me buying it!!!

I would guess that most who buy the paper are more interested in the pro side.
Of course they should cover the amateur scene also, but sadly I’d imagine these pages get rarely read.
I suggested making the pages regional, wouldn’t you take a closer look if you thought there may be a chance of reading about your local club or even one in your area.

There was a paper for the amateurs up until a few years ago, but obviously the demand wasn’t there, BN took it over and they too decided to revert back to their usual coverage, until there is something of a pro news shortage when they’ll give us some more.

ABA Boxing says it all, you obviously prefer the amateur side, though sadly you are the minority.

They could do a few more of those fantasy tournaments for other weight divisions? They are fun to read from time to time.

And a book review, almost all of us are looking for something to read, so to guide us to the good and away from the bad.
Also reliable places to buy memorabilia.

They should take a look at what threads on this site attract the most interest to get an idea what people want.

At least half the letters page. The number of people writing in with trite, old rubbish or attempting to cover fights already covered in the hope of being 'spotted' is ridiculous. I rarely read anything in this section that is worthwhile, although I understand the need for feedback. Plus it's a good space filler.

I'd like to see their rankings a little more often, too. Frequently referred to (or at least they used to be) but rarely seen.

And I agree wholeheartedly with the general feeling that their paper quality / staple issues are a pain in the arse.

A no brainer - get rid of the world's worst boxing writer, Jim Brady.

Main thing for me is for it to arrive on time. For some reason it's ALWAYS late in South London where I live. Sometimes, by the time I get there on saturday after a big night out, they've sold out, but on Friday after work, they aren't there. Well annoying. That's down to the distribution network though.

I'd like to see more feature length 'what if' type features. Maybe more light hearted stuff too.

Odd that James cos im a south londoner and i only have problems getting it occasionally.