The Hitlist 01.05.11: Blow Up Boxing's Business Model

Posted by Patrick Cassidy on 01.05.2011

2010 featured low attendance, poor television ratings, and plenty of fights that were not made. It's time we realize something is broken in the sport and it's time for a change.


Making This Fight Wouldn't Hurt

2011 has snuck up on us like so many years before it, unassuming and one day just there. American Boxing has once again seen another year, where aside from the foils of its two lone superstars, the crowds and media have largely avoided the sport as if it's a certain girl whose reputation can mean the mere acquaintance can garner you odd looks and ostracism. Boxing has stagnated for another year on a seemingly endless cycle where the sports world pays attention only briefly and is just as quickly gone.

Need proof? Take Sergio Martinez who fought in two major bouts in front of half filled arenas for one of the most prestigious titles in our sport, the middleweight championship of the world. We as Boxing fans keep lying to ourselves that it's going to get better but aside from the European and Mexican market, the sport is not growing and it's getting to the point that the future talent pool may be drying up. Ladies and Gentleman, it's time to blow the ship up. It's time to start anew and adjust the way the sport of Boxing does business. It's time to get back to basics.

The MMA crowd will say their sports better and it simply is too powerful for boxing. That's a lie. The fact is that only one company has seen significant success in the states while half-assed promotions flounder in mediocrity. It's not the sport; it's how it's managed. Boxing needs to forget about staging fights in Casino's where the only source of income is a site fee so the Casino can host a few half-crazed gambling addicts who simply want a brief distraction from their ever present goal of depleting the family's college fund. We need to stop relying on HBO or Showtime to posts millions for the rights to air bouts that offers Promoter's little incentive to do their job… you know, properly promote the fight to ensure a sizable crowd and an adequate television audience. Instead of hitting the pavement to ensure a profit, these television fees ensure that cards are profitable for the promoter but also result in anemic attendance figures that garner a low audience as two warriors fight in front of empty arenas as if they were a couple of local kids fighting on the preliminary card.


No, it's time to break the business cycle of boxing. The current emphasis on site fees and TV deals has severely crippled the sport of boxing in America. The system is a relic of a business that was once booming and is now surviving on its rich history and tradition rather than developing new stars out of the many talented fighters that we've seen emerge in recent years. Simply put, boxing needs to build new stars that are relevant to American audiences. The only way to do that is to properly promote these kids and quit with the tired tradition of slowing bringing prospects along by matching them against poor opponents in fights that no one is looking forward to viewing. You have never seen the UFC wait for a young fighter's 20th or so fight before he's matched with a live body that is capable of providing an exciting fight. No, what you do see is the UFC match their fighters with opponents that are not meant to pad their records but rather the novel idea of making attractive fights for its audiences. Boxing was not always this way either. Marvin Hagler did not make a name for himself by fighting tomato cans on un-televised undercards. Rather he took every fight afforded to him and built his reputation on hard work and unrelenting offense. He was not carefully guided, no; he was a fighter who earned his status as one of the sports elite.



Getting back to the issue of promotion, Dana White works tirelessly to promote his brand and the fighters that are under his control. He sells these fighters through constant promotion both on its platforms and through cross promotion such as reality television, radio and social networking. It's worked too; the UFC has monopolized the youth market while Boxing is still relying on the older crowd and ethnic groups who have a rich tradition with the sport to make up their audience. Young white males are non factors to many promoters who simply look to exploit the traditional markets with little eye towards expansion.

Name a fighter and I can probably list you a handful of mistakes they've made that the UFC probably wouldn't have. Andre Berto? I love Lou but can you honestly say that Andre Berto shouldn't have at least some mainstream recognition? No, instead his career has relied on site fees to make a profit while the actual selling of Berto the fighter and person has been largely nonexistent. The result? No one outside of Boxing really knows who Andre Berto is much less spend over 100 dollars on a ticket to see him fight. A young, charismatic, good looking fighter who is entering his prime is a non entity in the sports market. What's wrong with this picture? Well here's an idea. Instead of negotiating for television rights why not stake the profit of Berto's next fight on his ability to sell tickets. Take the fight out of the Casino's and into buildings that you pay for and in turn have to sell enough tickets to turn a profit? Get Berto on local television, push for every media opportunity you can get to promote the fighter and the fight. People are far more likely to buy a ticket when they actually know the guy's name and media appearances do just that. Here's an open secret too, most media loves guest spots like this because it means less time for them to fill and subsequently less work.



Also, don't dare say it's the actual sport that is the problem. Case in point, Main Events has worked tirelessly to make a name for itself in the New Jersey market and has found strong business in Tomasz Adamek and Zab Judah. You see they work to make their fighters into attractions rather than having them fight far from home on poorly promoted cards. They have built a local attraction around these men, stressing the fighter's abilities and personalities. It's a recipe that has made Canada a hot bed for boxing activity. We need to go back to the drawing board and sell more than the fights but the fighters themselves. We have to push for ESPN to cover Robert Guerrero's battle with raising a family while his wife lay in a Hospital bed. These are stories that sell and yet opportunities such as this are largely squandered.

Boxing's business model is broken and it's not hard to see why. The sport can continue down the path that it's been on or it can change the model and look to rebuild the sport toward its past heights. Good competitive fights that are both fan friendly and featuring fighters that the audience can get behind are just a start. The sport has a long way to go but it won't be the last time that it's risen to meet the count.