Are promoters essential to the sport?

[Spray_resistant]

Why couldn't networks themselves just call up the fighters/their camps and organize fights, then run ads for the events?

Or if a fight is not televised whoever owns the venue or the camps themselves to take it upon themselves to promote.

Are promoters really obsolete if someone takes the initiative to make them so?

Other than what others could do if they wanted I don't see what promoters really do.

someone fill me in if I am missing some crucial piece of this.

[S.G.]

I suppose they function as an agent / manager / producer (like a film producer . . . but for boxing) hybrid.

We've seen that once you reach that topmost level of boxing stardom the fighters often transcend the need of promoting but for the fighters who aren't in high demand, i.e. 99% of the overall boxing world, you need someone with connections and resources to put the pieces together for you. Boxing gyms don't have the means to buy out venues and put cards together and advertise those cards -- they're not run as businesses and don't have the kind of staff and infrastructure to make all that stuff happen; and venues don't exist for boxing, it's not their duty to scout out and sign events, they are just arenas for hire.

In an ideal world promoters would be defunct in favour of centralised and/or provincial boxing associations akin to how football (soccer) is governed with FIFA, UEFA, etc. but as things stand it's the promoters who effectively make shit happen.

[Eaner0919]

Why couldn't networks themselves just call up the fighters/their camps and organize fights, then run ads for the events?

Or if a fight is not televised whoever owns the venue or the camps themselves to take it upon themselves to promote.

Are promoters really obsolete if someone takes the initiative to make them so?

Other than what others could do if they wanted I don't see what promoters really do.

someone fill me in if I am missing some crucial piece of this.

the assumption is that every fighter is on TV and all the networks have to do is call said fighter to make fights happen

what is missing is the cultivation of a fighter to make them TV worthy.

for example how does a Adrien Broner get to HBO without the cultivation of his promoter/manager?

what you're asking a network like HBO to not only show the fights but now handle the talent process as well for the sport. That's a HUGE undertaking that promoters such as TR and GBP do extensively. I have been at their offices and the amount of traffic going through is insane in terms of fighters/managers/trainers asking them to give their kid a look

HBO et al would not want to deal with that

[New England]

Lol?


of course they are

they are the ones putting on the fights




that's like asking if movies really need producers (ooo, just noticed another movie reference... great minds evidently think alike!)


if movies simply fell together without requiring time and money then yues
you wouldnt need a producer

and if fights just sort of happened
then you wouldnt need promoters.