By Bill Calogero

Small business is the backbone of our country. If it wasn’t for the Mom & Pop businesses, whether it’s the four-man construction crew or the husband and wife deli owners, the United States would not be the “Land Of Opportunity” that it is. The same can be said about the business of boxing. If it wasn’t for the smaller promoters, the ones who promote shows that house 1000 spectators or less, the Don Kings would not be able to survive. The Small Promoter is the Backbone of Boxing.

Throughout the country, small promoters battle the odds to turn a profit by promoting Professional Boxing Shows in small venues that usually can hold a few hundred people. It doesn’t take a Brain Surgeon to figure out that when you can only fit 300 fans into a venue, you will be limited on the fights and fighters that can be brought in to fight on the card. Add travel expenses and the limitations grow.

In most cases, the ONLY source of revenue comes from ticket sales and local business sponsorships. Without this type of support, these shows can’t make it. The other obstacle that is faced is the size of the towns in which these shows take place. They are generally small, blue-collar towns. In Small Town USA, local businesses are usually reluctant to hand over sponsorship dollars because they themselves are forced to operate on limited budgets. The end result is a huge challenge for the Promoter to make these shows break even, let alone turn a profit. Without the success of these shows the bigger promoters would not be able to exist. The fighters that fight on the small shows, become the pool of fighters the Big Promoters pick from. This is the minor leagues, so to speak, of Pro Boxing. The proving grounds if you will.

The small shows provide an avenue for fighters to build up their records in a controlled setting. These events showcase local talent because the local fighter is the ticket seller. They usually are matched with very winnable fights and over a short period of time, find themselves in a position to be ranked, and then if they are good enough or lucky enough, get a shot at some form of a title.

The World Title Bouts are generally found on the bigger shows, in bigger cities, with revenues that come from many sources, which include TV and site fee dollars. This is when the bigger promoters take over and ultimately when the National Fight Fan gets to see the prospect. This is also when the small promoter and his local fan base, which are basically the ones responsible for building up the prospect, get pushed aside so the Big Promoter, PPV and the Cable Networks can take over. It’s certainly not the choice of the small promoter, but in business, the buying power dictates who gets to do what.

Based on how business is conducted in today’s World, this sounds like and in most cases IS the Norm. The problem is that the bouts that take place between two young up and coming boxers, fighting for a “chance” or a “shot” are the best bouts that most boxing fans never get to see. The 300 fans that fill the local Armory get treated to the best brawls out there. All the National Fight Fan sees are the results on a fighters record. They see wins and losses. They rarely get to hear details let alone see it. The local fan can bond with the fighter, where as the national boxing fan gets to see the Title bouts, which watching from a 5000 seat arena or watching from your living room on Cable or PPV TV, can be impersonal to say the least.

In addition to the live experience of the smaller shows, fans also get the benefits of very affordable ticket prices, lower priced souvenirs, and opportunities of meeting the fighters one on one. In almost all cases, fans present at the smaller shows feel like they are part of it. They are.

There is nothing like the emotion that can be felt in a small local boxing show when the fans of the fighters are friends and family. Anyone in the arena can feel it. The same rarely can be said of the mega fights. There are only so many ringside seats available. In the smaller venues, in most cases, there is not a bad seat in the house.

In today’s World Of Professional Boxing, we have a handful of Big-Time Promoters. The two biggest Promoters are Don King and Bob Arum. HBO and ShowTime are Cable TV networks but make no mistake, they are promoters too. They dictate who fights on their networks.

We are now (finally) beginning to see a lot of mid-level promoters out there that will someday move into the top slots. Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions is one that comes to mind and in my opinion, will slide into one of the “Top” two spots in the very near future.

We have an endless amount of small promoters that are the grunts of the boxing industry. They all dream about doing a big money making show, but are in a constant battle with the odds. The odds are tough to beat, but without these relentless business minded people, the top end of the industry would not be able to survive. After all, in Baseball, a prospect rarely goes from High School or College directly to the Majors. They need to fine-tune their skills in the minor leagues.

Small promoters ARE the Backbone of Professional Boxing and without their efforts and hard work, the sport of Professional Boxing would be totally different then what we have today. Hats off to all of the small boxing promoters out there that has the balls to roll the dice and make pro boxing succeed in a small town near you.