01.04.04 – The Senate approved legislation that would create a federal agency to oversee professional boxing. The legislation would establish a United States Boxing Administration within the Labor Department. It would license professional boxers, promoters, managers and sanctioning organizations. Fox Sports Net host and boxing expert Max Kellerman responds:
“The most important thing government can do for boxing- be it local or federal, is to clean up corruption.
“You have to look at boxing as you would look other industries that used to thrive on selling the seedy underbelly — Times Square and Las Vegas, for instance. They used to be money makers, but their corrupt element, though it appealed to some, alienated them from the mainstream. Once government- and I know these are geographical locations so I know it’s not a perfect analogy but I think it works– stepped in and cleaned up the corruption, then corporations felt comfortable investing money.
“Boxing needs government to create an atmosphere that promotes corporate investment. But I don’t think that’s the same thing as saying boxing should be presided over by the federal government. The USBC ostensibly will not supercede state athletic commissions, but will enforce minimum standards which will bring states with weak or no athletic commissions up to speed, and that’s a good thing.
“As far as Senator Reid’s assertion that networks have become de facto promoters, that is true, but that’s because promoters have become de facto managers. It’s the networks actually putting up the money.
“Theoretically, Promoters are supposed to go to two different fighter’s managers and say, ‘I can come up with this amount of money if you two will fight.’ What happened was promoters signed fighters to contracts. Let’s say you signed Fighter X to a contract and Fighter X is a big star? Are you going to try to get him beat? No, you’re going to protect your investment. Build him up. Bring him along. Because you have him under contract, you’re going to match him accordingly to keep him winning. That’s really the job of the manager.
“The promoters go to networks like HBO and Showtime and say, ‘Look who I have under contract. You want to use this guy then you have to play ball with me.’ That’s like dealing with a manager. Why do the networks need to do that? Networks then sign the fighters directly and negotiate purses with their managers.
“A promoter today should be a guy who makes his money off ticket sales and concessions and maybe takes a flat fee from the network, but is not in charge of paying the fighter’s purses.
“It’s a small step in the right direction if the aim of such legislation is to clean up boxing not control it.”