Last month’s Middleweight clash between Gabriel Rosado and Brian Vera may have been overlooked by the majority of fans, but its significance to the future of boxing should not be, as it heralded the arrival into the mainstream of BKB, Big Knockout Boxing. The bout took place not in a traditional boxing ring but in ‘The Pit’, a 17 foot diameter circular arena without any ropes or cage favored by other contact sports. With Championship fights taking place over seven, two minute rounds and under a new rules system designed to encourage more action and excitement, the main event did not disappoint. Rosado put on a magnificent display of controlled aggression eventually knocking out Vera with seconds to go at the end of the sixth round.
With the sport still in its infancy, Big Knockout Boxing will undoubtedly have many detractors quick to brand it as simplistic violence for uneducated boxing fans. Purists will decry it as a blasphemy against traditional boxing as it negates many of the defensive skills of their idols. But boxing fans should not overlook the interest BKB promises to bring to a sport that has seen better days. Whilst I understand the feelings many have about traditional notions of the ‘Sweet science’, fans have grown frustrated at being asked to pay top dollar to watch boring fights and have expressed a desire for change. Change that forces fighters to engage more and not simply run or hold. Change that encourages fighters to win decisively by knockout rather than relying on the judges’ scorecards. And change that will provide the excitement and drama necessary to attract new fans the sport. Casual fans and TV audiences simply do not want to watch two ‘Scientists’ run, hold or jab their way through twelve rounds of tedium refereed by a United Nations Peace keeper!
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