Comments Thread For: The old guard of boxing networks is gone; the old guard of promoters is next

[TelMex]

PBC, TR and Golden Boy need to join forces like Voltron. Not every promotional company is going to get by unscathed in this market.

[DClefthook]

PBC, TR and Golden Boy need to join forces like Voltron. Not every promotional company is going to get by unscathed in this market.

This is the only way to save American boxing. They need to be on the same network (Prime) and there needs to be legal enforceable language in the contracts that forces them to make the biggest fights that Prime chooses to broadcast

[Heru]

This is a monumental moment in the history of boxing.

The old guard is reaping what they sowed. They took the helm of boxing with no vision for its long term future; only for maximizing their revenue in the short term.

They shrunk their market by limiting access to it with PPV and relied on subscription network deals until the networks were uninterested in working with them.

They neglected the long term growth of the sport by lack of investment in a pipeline.

And worst of all, they chipped away at the integrity of the sport by corruption and incompetence.

That is the opposite of how the major sports organizations business models. The NFL keeps its best product on the most accessible networks from NFL Sunday to the Super Bowl, invests and even subsidizes other leagues and youth sports with a constant pipeline of prospects, and aims for the highest integrity (the keyword is aims).

The old guard has a superstar driven business model, the new guard has a superstar business model. One relies on individuals like Tank Davis and the other relies on process. One can live through a downturn, the other cannot (I’ll let you take a guess at which one).

At this point, the old guard can band together for a last hurrah or go out alone with a whimper. The new guard is coming with a sustainable business model, great leadership, and full of resources that is building for the future. The old guard has been checkmated, they just don’t know it yet.

[Sheikh]

EXCELLENT NEWS. All these promoters do is prevent big fights from happening or overmarinate fights. The networks should work directly with the fighter. It saves money and allows the fighters to make more.

[sceneboxing]

The average American cant name 5 current champions in this 4 belt era. Boxing will die out here in 5 years. It will turn right back into the early 2000s.

I dare any American to walk into a BWWs, Dave & Busters or any local sports bar and ask a random Joe. Can you name 5 current boxing champions ?

Haven't been able to name 5 champs in decades.

[landotter]

This is a monumental moment in the history of boxing.

The old guard is reaping what they sowed. They took the helm of boxing with no vision for its long term future; only for maximizing their revenue in the short term.

They shrunk their market by limiting access to it with PPV and relied on subscription network deals until the networks were uninterested in working with them.

They neglected the long term growth of the sport by lack of investment in a pipeline.

And worst of all, they chipped away at the integrity of the sport by corruption and incompetence.

That is the opposite of how the major sports organizations business models. The NFL keeps its best product on the most accessible networks from NFL Sunday to the Super Bowl, invests and even subsidizes other leagues and youth sports with a constant pipeline of prospects, and aims for the highest integrity (the keyword is aims).

The old guard has a superstar driven business model, the new guard has a superstar business model. One relies on individuals like Tank Davis and the other relies on process. One can live through a downturn, the other cannot (I’ll let you take a guess at which one).

At this point, the old guard can band together for a last hurrah or go out alone with a whimper. The new guard is coming with a sustainable business model, great leadership, and full of resources that is building for the future. The old guard has been checkmated, they just don’t know it yet.

Excellent post.

I think Top Rank survives in some form. I cannot get past that even though they seem to be floating, they always seem to adjust just enough to be relevant. However, PBC and Golden Boy are circling the drain.

I no longer feel good about what boxing looks like in a decade from now. All the other sports seem to be rowing in the same direction to some degree. Boxing has been out treading water and actively pulling each other under the swirling surface.

[SteveM]

The average American cant name 5 current champions in this 4 belt era. Boxing will die out here in 5 years. It will turn right back into the early 2000s.

I dare any American to walk into a BWWs, Dave & Busters or any local sports bar and ask a random Joe. Can you name 5 current boxing champions ?

the answer might be along the lines of "Tank, Crawford, Fury, Canelo and Joshua" - wrong on every count

[SteveM]

well if promoters actually promoted .... Hearn gets a lot of stick but he is always available for an interview which cannot be said for Haymon/PBC representative nor Arum now (but he gets a pass due to age). Oscar is semi visible but more often than not shoots himself in the foot.

[SteveM]

The wokerati have risen to positions of power in the last decade or so - lets face it, boxing is seen as close to a neanderthal endeavor by them - so removing it from programing is not only an accounting exercise.

[Elpatron2]

Mayb goin back , 15 rounds, bikini ring referees, is something better