12.11.03 – By Dr Z: Boxing is in serious decline. Yes, it is. The heavyweight division is drained. The judging in main events stinks. The rankings are a joke. WBA, WBC, IBF, IBO, WBO…..one can go dyslexic merely thinking about them. Many fighters aren’t motivated. Yes–there are a few good pound per pound fighters out there, but if you take a close at the age demographics, only Floyd Mayweather is young and he’s hardly a fan favorite. Big draw fighters such as Tyson, Lewis, Shane, Hopkins, Ocsar, Roy Jones, et al, aren’t going to be around for ever. The lack of talent for the next generation is alarming. Maybe Cotto and J. Taylor can be great in time, but without great competition, how can they truly define themselves?
If your like most fans, you’re probably fed up with all the crap the promoters have been giving us lately. The good news? Most of the Promoters are “Old ” as well.
Many have said that boxing is so broken that its going to take a man with deep pockets, a brass set of stones, a strong media presence, and plenty of vision to fix it. I happen to think that there is one man out there that qualifies. An unlikely messiah to the punch drunk fans that perpetuate the sport. Who?
Enter Vince McMahon.
I often wonder how Vince McMahon would fair with his own boxing organization? I’m not a fan of the WWE wrestling at all, but it seems to me there all over the air waves. When I surf through the channels, Wresting events are playing in front of packed houses. Why is this? How can a staged sport claim the hearts of their fans? The answer is easy. Credit McMahon. McMahon understands what he owns. He markets his product brilliantly, which is something boxing doesn’t do. Most of the his Wrestlers also happen to be media celebrities. People know who they are. Part of the big fight lure to me is knowing who the people are in and out of the ring. Very few boxers are celebrities. In short, McMahon understands his audience and delivers.
I’d like to see Vince throw his own hat in the ring and form his own organization. Boxing isn’t football. There is no major league that can afford to buy out the best players. There is no draft. Fighters, good fighters switch promoters all of the time.
Picture this: McMahon gives his initial belts to the lineal champions, and gains instant credibility. His titles are won and lost in the ring….not in court. He brings back 15 round championship fights! He promises the public accountability in the judging. His rankings are the consensus of many men, not one or two guys that are connected to promoters. He streamlines the weight divisions. He builds boxing gyms in key areas of the country, planting the seeds for the next generation. There used to be plenty of city rivalries in boxing. McMahon realizes this and matches his amateur gyms against one another in a round robin formula. N.Y. vs Philly. L.A. vs Chicago. Miami vs Washington D.C…placing all of the matches on the undercard of his wrestling events. McMahon signs young talents, and exposes them on under-cards on some of his big time wrestling shows…picking up legions of fans along the way. He has his own kick butt web site, which allows the people to ” get to know ” his fighters, and offers clips of the fights FREE for the public to view. He has a schedule…a set schedule of events giving the fans something to look forward to. In short, he gives us boxing the way it ought to be.
There’s an ancient proverb that says be careful for what you wish for, because you just might get it. I’m not suggesting Thunderbox here. I’m suggesting boxing, the way it used to be. As a fight fans, we have little to lose. All we need is a media mogul who understands what we want, then gives it to us.