Germany will be the first major market in Europe to stage boxing again, according to Kalle Sauerland, and an expected restart of the Bundesliga, the country’s top football league, will give the green light to start planning shows again.
Sauerland, Germany’s top promoter, believes it is realistic for behind-closed-doors shows to take place in the country in late June or July as lockdown restrictions there have already started to be lifted. However, be believes countries like the UK could be several weeks behind that schedule.
“It hasn’t been confirmed that the Bundesliga will be restarting [this month], but I believe it will,” Sauerland said. “From our point of view that is that starting shot for us and German boxing.
“What we are doing at the moment is scenario planning, but it is not just scenario A-C, it’s scenario A-Z. The whole thing is bizarre, it feels like Groundhog Day.
“If the Bundesliga is up in May, I would expect there to be live boxing in Germany in late June or July. Obviously behind closed doors or with a very limited crowd.
“If it was a choice between 500 people paying or behind closed doors, at the moment, I would rather go with behind closed doors, just for safety and responsibility and for being able to pull the show off.
“Anyone who is planning big shows at the moment needs to be realistic in the first phase. I am not a scientist or a politician, but the first phase will be behind closed doors and however long that takes, we just don’t know. Anyone in boxing who says they do know is telling lies. It is simply a case of watch and wait.”
Sauerland says it will not be a case of boxers simply being ready the moment a lockdown is lifted, even those staying fit, because they will need sparring, as titles will still be on the line even if there is no crowd.
“Some boxers have decided to take a breather, but most are training and staying fit,” he said. “Their sparring phase would normally be 5-6 weeks. A lot of guys are staying fit so there will not be the need for the full ten-week camp. You won’t need that first two-three weeks of fitness ground work.”
Sauerland says that when boxing does comeback, it is likely there will be a rush of action, with many shows clashing.
“There is going to be a whirlwind of boxing when it does come back because there have been so many shelved shows,” he said. “Every promoter I have spoken to have their own little scenarios. The ideas range from a tent, to movie studios, to islands, I have heard them all.
“One thing you must not forget is that boxing is not football. We require two ICU beds, we require a neurosurgeon on standby, we require two ambulances, we require a team of onsite paramedics.
“In Germany, the situation with around 6,000 deaths and 30 percent occupation of beds, you can soon go to the authorities and ask for this. But morally or ethically, you cannot currently go to the NHS [in the UK] and ask for one of those things – it would be shocking if you would even ask.
“The UK is definitely a month-and-a-half behind Germany in terms of putting events on.
“In Germany, the lockdown is not over, but non-essential shops are re-opening, the Bundesliga is coming back and the health service here is not under the same strain.
“This virus can just pop up overnight, but you would say that Germany is the frontrunner to stage boxing in Europe right now.”
Sauerland also said that boxing authorities should not risk a reduction in safety measures merely as a way of getting a show on.
“Content at the moment is key and there is no content,” he said. “I’m a promoter, we live off events. But being completely realistic, we are not normal events, we are not a badminton contest, we are not playing polo in the park. This is boxing, a full-contact sport, it is a very tough sport and at times a brutal sport. It can only take place with the adequate medical support.
“I know there are a lot of people shouting each other out over social media, but you have to be realistic. When it gets lifted, what do we need and how are we going to achieve it to put on events?
“When you read what some promoters are saying, you think ‘how the hell are you going to do this and achieve a safe environment’.”
“I’m not a pint half empty guy, but I’m a realist. It is not about when they lift the lockdown, it is about when we can do the event in a safe environment. And that is not just safe of COCID-19, it means safe of the day-to-day dangers of boxing. You can’t just say – we only need one ambulance now – no, we need two.”
Ron Lewis is a senior writer for Boxing Scene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.