Former world champion Amir Khan is giving back to the sport in a huge way, one that will hopefully enforce some big and important changes to the whole combat sports world. Khan has co-founded a boxing union, Global Fighters’ Boxing Union (GFU), which will be officially launched in January. For so long, fighters have been left to deal with so many issues without any support, and the retirement years for many of these fighters are proving especially hard.
Now, with the help of people like fellow fighter Paul Smith, Khan’s union aims to improve the financial aspects of boxing and other combat sports while drastically improving safety. One thing that stands out here is how the new union will aim to have broadcasters adopt a similar approach to the one The Professional Football Association (PFA) and football leagues have, with a substantial amount of money generated from games going to the players.
It really is about time these things were implemented. Boxing and MMA are the most dangerous sports out there.
“There has to be an organization that’s above everything,” Khan said, as quoted by The Mail. “We’ve all had issues – in training, before fights, after fights, at weigh-ins, on contracts, in retirement. We can’t turn to promoters or boards of control for so many issues. So to be able to turn to the Global Fighters’ Union for help and get it from people who have been there and done it not just between the ropes but in trade unions, in politics, in law, in the media and in education will be a massive positive change for everyone in our sport.”
Good on Khan and his team for doing what they have done and what they aim to do. Fighters risk their lives every time they enter the ring or the cage, and as such, they deserve the best of everything – pay, safety, and all manner of help and assistance in their retirement years. Far too many great fighters have suffered alone in retirement, the glory years gone, their plight either a financial one or a health problem.
The new union aims to fix many things that need fixing. Smith said he and the team have “Spent 2024 laying the groundwork for the GFU to become a recognized trade union, and we will launch it officially one year after we announced our plans to build it. Through 2024, our team, structure, and targets have all been established, and we will start the change process in combat sports with a list of year-one action to be published shortly.”
All that can be said here is good luck with all concerned in their work for this needed union, and all it aims to bring and change to the world of combat sports.
