14.03.06 – By Bill Calogero: Professional boxing has certainly had its ups and downs over the years. The state pugilism is in today isn’t that great. Some will argue that it is in its worst state ever. Just ask Senator John McCain. He thinks, as do many others, that a Federal Boxing Commission is the answer. Although that may sound good at first, I think in the long run, it would be just as bad as it is now. In my opinion, it would end up being worse. The problems Professional Boxing faces in 2006 are not that different then what was faced during it’s infancy over three hundred years ago..
The basic nature of Professional Boxing has not changed since it’s Pioneer Days during the 1700’s throughout the 1800’s, during the Transition Days of the early 1900’s, the Golden Era of the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, the Turbulent Times of 1980’s & 90’s into today’s Mega-Mess of the new Millennium.
The times have changed and there certainly has been advancement geared towards the safety of the combatants by altering the equipment and rules of the sport over the past three hundred years, but the basic “one on one battle” is the same. Boxing is when two warriors climb into a ring and fight. Here is where the problem of the sport lies. We are all to assume that both fighters want to win no matter what. Is this the case today? Was it always the case? What about the people around or part of the fighters….do they always want their fighter to win? The true Fans of boxing want to think so, but is it true?
In those early days, the fights themselves were brutal. Many of the fighters died after bouts. Many became permanently disfigured. The fighters would battle until they not only could fight no more, but also in many cases could barely walk away under their own power. Pierce Egan’s ringside report on a fight that took place in 1810 between England’s Champion, Tom Cribb and the freed slave Molineaux of the United States puts the Pioneer Days Of Boxing in perspective. At one point during the bout Egan writes that the fight, which ended up lasting 39 rounds, was the most brutal he had ever seen. He said that both of the fighters were so beat up that you could not tell one from the other. How gruesome must have these two guys looked considering one was black and one was white that they could not be told apart? The bottom line is that blood is red no mater what color you are and apparently both of these warriors were covered in it, not to mention the monster-like appearances both men took on during the fight as described by Egan. By the end of the fight, neither man was recognizable. Cribb won the fight to retain his Title. Professional Boxing survived.
Even with the success of Jack Johnson during the early 1900’s, there were still many who opposed the sport. Throughout the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s, the founder of The Ring Magazine, Nat Fleischer, wrote of the anti-boxing feeling many times. Many thought the sport of professional boxing was dieing, but it survived.
During the 1950’s, (which I believe produced some of the best boxers in the history of the sport) is when the corruption side of the sport was exposed. Its not like it didn’t exist before, however during this time, we got to see how their managers, the promoters and the media, were controlling fighters especially when TV became part of the boxing scene. Why? Its simple. Because of the money that was being made. This is when boxers were being exploited at its worst. More often than not, contracts were put in front of boxing’s contenders for three fight deals. They were expected to win the first one, their opponent would win the second and the third fight was for real. When these practices were exposed, it was a black eye for the sport of professional boxing. What was the outcome? Boxing survived.
During this “Golden Era Of Boxing” not only did boxing survive, but we got to see some of the best fights in the history of the sport. One of the reasons why it survived was because of the path most fighters had to travel to get their shot at a title. When you had two 10-0 guys, they fought each other. They faced real opponents. They faced opponents of equal talent as themselves. By taking these tough fights, when they finally got their shot and won, they were the real deal. They were true Champions and for the most part, deserved the title based on merit earned from hard work and dedication. It was good for the boxer, it was good for the fan and overall, and it was good for the sport of professional boxing.
Here we are in 2006. Boxing is still alive. Some say it’s barely alive and some say it’s alive and well. As it was three hundred years ago, some people love it, some people hate it and some people could care less. There are still outcries for reform and cries for abolishment. The media plays a huge role in the sport today. Mega fights for millions of dollars are every fighter’s dream, as it’s the dream of their manager, promoter and Cable Networks. There are so many similarities, yet there is one huge difference.
The biggest difference between professional boxing, as it was 30, 50, 100 or even 200 years ago compared to today, is how a fighter is handled. Today’s boxer is protected so much, in my opinion, it is ruining the sport. Don’t get me wrong, I agree 100% with the New York State Athletic Commission and the Nevada State Athletic Commission and their policies protecting the boxers concerning health risks both in the ring as well as professional boxing training techniques and principles. This is not the protection I am talking about. I am talking about the over protection of the fighter’s path to a shot at a Championship. This is what is hurting the sport now. This is what Mr. McCain feels the world of boxing needs his help on (I have always wondered what he knows about boxing anyway). What is hurting the sport is that we have an abundance of fighters out there either ranked in the top-ten, or are current Champions that are not the best fighters of their division. A World Champion should be the best fighter of his class. Period.
When a fighter is hand-fed fights that he basically walks through, what good is it? How real is a boxers 25-0 record when of the 25, maybe one or two fights was against quality opponents. Promoters, with the help of the media, are able to sell these fighters as quality to the public….to the fight fan. They hit the fans pocketbook. As it was in the past, the boxer is the one who benefits least. Worst than that, in most cases, he isn’t even that good. When he does get his shot, he ends up being so out classed that the mega-bout is not even competitive. What good is that? Who benefits from that? Not the boxer who was thrown to the wolves. In most cases, his career ends right there. Not the fan that shells out $50 to watch the fight on PPV. Not the fan that spends $200-$2500 for a seat so he can witness the bogus bout live. Not the small promoter who produces the club shows and incidentally, in my opinion, is the backbone of the fight industry. Who then? Who makes the money? We all know who. The big promoters make the money. The cable networks make the money. Everyone else gets screwed and to make it worse, we are forced to listen to John McCain say that the only way to correct it is to let the Government rule over our troubled sport. What a crock of BS! Why would we want the most corrupt system we know of rule over a sport that can be tampered with so easily because there are only two warriors in a ring that are supposed to give it their all and fight to win. What happens when they don’t do that? What happens when the judges score a fight like they were watching a totally different fight than the one we saw?
There is only one way to clean up boxing. No a Federal Commission is definitely not the answer. No, The New York, or Nevada Commissions are not the answer either. After all, when a commission has to employ a full-time Attorney with a high-end six-figure salary just to keep the peace within their own State, how would they be able to control the other Commissions? They couldn’t.
The question is……What has to be done to clean up the state of boxing as it is today in the year 2006? In my opinion, the answer is a Coalition of Commissions. This is what the sport of professional boxing needs.
A commission governs all of the other professional sports. In those cases, one-commission rules, but the difference is that there are Teams involved. Not individuals. But the concept is the same. The teams have owners. The owners meet with the commission and set up the rules, salaries, schedules, etc. The owners elect the members of their commissions. They have their problems too, but really, all in all, the system works.
In boxing, the State Commissions would be like the team owners. The Coalition would consist of an elected representative from each State Commission. Collectively, they can all come up with common rules and regulations as well as safety precautions. This Coalition would also be able to police contracts between fighters, managers, and promoters or between promoters, Cable Networks and or PPV. They could force fighters to fight other fighters with similar records, and likewise let fighters with not so great of a record continue to fight similar opponents. By doing this, our top-ten fighters would be the best, for real, and the lower end fighters would continue to have the opportunity to improve their skills, get better and progress up the ladder of talent. Many want to continue to fight because professional boxing is their livelihood. There is nothing wrong with that. What IS wrong is when they put a 10-0 fighter against a 2-15 fighter. In the end, both the boxer and the fan would certainly benefit.
I know Mr. McCain would argue that this is what he wants his proposed Federal Commission to do, but the reason it would not work with the Government involved, is because of the Government’s knack for doing things in the direction of where their campaign money is coming from. A Coalition would consist of members that are elected by their own Commissions. How could one member be able to influence all of the other members? Fees collected can fund the Coalition. The location of the shows would determine what State Commission would oversee the show and of course, they would be able to collect the proper sales tax. The Coalition could mandate all boxer medicals be the same so there would be no problems with fighters fighting anywhere. It would ensure that all the State Commissions are on the same page.
Like anything new, it would take time to work. It would take time for everyone involved to accept it with open arms. But in my opinion, in time the overall state of boxing, from the quality of the bouts, the safety of the boxers, the rules and regulations to reasonable profitability for Promoters, Managers, Matchmakers, The Networks and most importantly, the Boxers themselves would all become stable and respectable. Most of all, the business of Professional Boxing would become a legitimate profession.