Should HBO buy the best fights? Or sign fighters to exclusive contracts?

That's an interesting idea. It certainly takes some of the power out of the promoters' hands and gives it back to the fighters. Tennis benefits from having the Grand Slam tournaments, though. The nature of boxing is such that matches have to be spread out over months and it requires fans to have a longer attention span.Yes, the union's raison d'etre would be to represent the long term interests of the sport and to get the best deal for their athletes. It would be the only entity dealing with the promoters and acts as a buffer between boxers and promoters. Boxing cannot hold 2-week tournaments like tennis; but consistent, compelling match ups would go a long way towards maintaining fan interest.

This thread goes to the larger topic of how the sport is governed, which is to say, it lacks the transparency and structure required to offer a consistent product. I'd like to see something like this: fighters > boxing union > promoters > broadcasters All boxers would belong to an international union that governs the sport. The union determines rankings, match ups, and purse splits. Promoters bid on upcoming fights OFFERED BY THE UNION. The promoter with the best bid then selects who broadcasts the event (or broadcasters, in turn, bid on the event). The key to this structure is that no individual athlete is bound to a direct contract with a promoter or broadcaster, eliminating Business Politics. This can be accomplished by the sport's union lobbying federal governments to outlaw such contracts. Tennis has a similar structure except it uses tournaments to determine rankings; but ultimately the best athletes are forced to play each other to become the no. 1 seed. And that maintains broad fan interest year after year. That's an interesting idea. It certainly takes some of the power out of the promoters' hands and gives it back to the fighters. Tennis benefits from having the Grand Slam tournaments, though. The nature of boxing is such that matches have to be spread out over months and it requires fans to have a longer attention span.

This thread goes to the larger topic of how the sport is governed, which is to say, it lacks the transparency and structure required to offer a consistent product. I'd like to see something like this: fighters > boxing union > promoters > broadcasters All boxers would belong to an international union that governs the sport. The union determines rankings, match ups, and purse splits. Promoters bid on upcoming fights OFFERED BY THE UNION. The promoter with the best bid then selects who broadcasts the event (or broadcasters, in turn, bid on the event). The key to this structure is that no individual athlete is bound to a direct contract with a promoter or broadcaster, eliminating Business Politics. This can be accomplished by the sport's union lobbying federal governments to outlaw such contracts. Tennis has a similar structure except it uses tournaments to determine rankings; but ultimately the best athletes are forced to play each other to become the no. 1 seed. And that maintains broad fan interest year after year.

I think if the networks bid on the best fights they would have the power to force cooperation between promoters. You want that HBO fee? Bring us your best matchups then and we'll decide which are the ones that are most deserving. The very best fights could still go to PPV. The way it is now the promoters basically put on showcase mismatches in order to build up their stars as these unbeatable monsters. It's kind of like back in the day when Macho Man Randy Savage would beat up on Iron Mike Sharpe or Barry Horrowitz on free tv...but you had to pay to see him against Ricky Steamboat or Jake the Snake or Hulk Hogan.

Depends on how much money they are working with If the budget for boxing is as low as it looks like, I think that HBO's money would be best spent similar to how Showtime used their budget before the initial moves over by Schaefer and Golden Boy. Focus on the lighter weight fighters, look at the cruiserweights, and take advantage of the international shows. Canelo will continue to drive the PPV business, they'll try with Golovkin/Jacobs, and then you've got the rest of the schedule. Kovalev trying to sell tickets, the WBSS cards, and then you build with competitive fights with prospects. Give the boxing fan a quality product with the budget that you've got

Sign the little fighters where they don't have to pay them an arm and a leg. Those dudes give more bang for the buck when it comes to excitement. Boxers asking for millions for tune ups is what hurts boxing.

Sign some up and coming fighters who you feel have STAR POTENTIAL but also BID on the best fights regardless of the promoter/adviser or whoever

How would their money best be spent in your opinion? It's not an either/or proposition. You say "buy the best fights" but their entire business model revolves around putting the best fights on pay-per-view because they can't afford to buy the best fights. And the only way to build those pay-per-views is to sign fighters to exclusive contracts and build the fighter with showcase fights. You can't have one without the other.

Probably a combination of both Sign a handful of big/recognizable names which will draw a audience regardless of who they fight Golovkin vs Wade did their highest ratings for 2015 I believe even though the fight was a disgrace . And use the rest of their resources on putting together the best fight ( As far as the best fighting the best ) that they can get their hands on