Boxing’s New Year’s resolutions – Boxing News 24
Factor: Rory Hickey: Somehow 2022 is almost over. It has been a fascinating year globally and in the world of boxing. But instead of reflecting on the past year, I want to look ahead. What better way to touch on some of the changes I’d like to see in the sport of boxing than to make some resolutions for the new year?
Less cupcakes – Look, cupcakes are great. Unfortunately, scientists haven’t cracked the code on how people can live on a cupcake diet alone. You can’t eat cupcakes all the time if you want to be healthy. Likewise, boxing could benefit in the long run if promising young fighters, to borrow a phrase from college sports, have fewer cupcake opponents.
I understand that promoters want to develop young fighters, give them confidence and fill up win-loss records. But all those empty calories will always leave you wanting more! Time and time again, when good young boxers face adversity for the first time as professionals and get into trouble, they have no experience of being in danger. This lack of knowledge can lead to diminishing returns later in a once promising career. Likewise, eating a cupcake always seems like a great idea and is enjoyable in the moment, but later regretted.
See the world – The boxing world should broaden its horizons. Nothing against Las Vegas, but it’s almost 2023 and not every big fight has to be in Las Vegas. Yes, there are occasional fights in New York, London or the United Arab Emirates, but we can do better. There are almost 200 countries in the world! Mexico City, Germany and Helsinki are just three examples of places that can become big fights. Boxing would do well to expand its potential fan base by going into less traditional markets to stage fights.
Less social media: The promise of social media was great: it could bring people together and help raise awareness of lesser-known social issues; what could go wrong? A lot, it turned out!
When it comes to boxing, I could do less than one fighter calling out another on social media without anything happening in the ring. By comparing Drake, trigger fingers have collectively turned to Twitter fingers. Terence Crawford and Errol Spence are currently in the 127th round of their internet fight, but they cannot sign the same contract. Don’t tell me you want to fight on social media; show me you want to fight in the boxing ring.
Improves relationships: This decision is intended for large promotional companies. We have reached a point where two fighters with different promoters agreeing to fight each other is a significant achievement. Things have improved in recent years, but not much. It’s a constant disappointment how often fight promoters rob boxing fans of the opportunity to enjoy a larger amount in their bank deposit slips.
I’m not saying money isn’t good. But most boxing promoters seem to focus more on the promoter part of their title than the boxing part, which is a shame.
Reduce your waste: This resolution is intended for streaming services and promotional companies that stage fight cards. Some of these cards that are made into pay-per-view cards should have no business. Considering the number of weight classes and quality fighters in these divisions, it shouldn’t be as difficult to put together a quality fight card as it actually is.
This resolution has to do with promoters needing to improve their relationships with each other, so there will be more variety of fights.
Learn a new skill: Wouldn’t it be great for some fighters to develop a new punch that they currently lack in their arsenal? What if boxers who look like they’ve never done a button-up before learned how to do it? Deontay Wilder should spend 2023 learning how to throw a consistent punch. Jake Paul should learn how to fight a real boxer.
No overtime: Rematch clauses should only be included in contracts in rare circumstances. This resolution doesn’t mean we should ban the rematch clause – some fights deserve a rematch and are better the second time around. It’s just that rematch clauses are becoming overblown, leading to fights we don’t need, like Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos II, or weeks of negotiations to get out of a scheduled rematch.
Hopefully some of these decisions will be implemented, or at least a few will still be possible after the second week of January. Anyway, I wish you a happy and healthy new year!