Ideas to make boxing better and regain popularity

[_Maxi]

My ideas are:

1. Go back to same day weigh in, about three hours before the fight, so we get rid of weight cheaters. You care about your health? go fight at the division you belong.
2. Enforcement of anti clinching/holding rules. Casuals hate clinching, they want to see action. (Yes, I'm a casual too).
3. Champions have to fight mandatories or either unify right after they won the title.
4. Make fight night weights public so that we know who is cutting too much weight to fight on an inferior division.
5. Implementation of 10/9.5 scoring for close rounds. If we use that scoring, we have Garcia losing an UD against Peterson, for instance. Garcia won 6-7 rounds but most of them were no action rounds and he barely landed 2 or 3 punches. Peterson won 5-6 rounds really hitting him with several hard shots, leaving his face all marked. Yet he was labeled as the loser.

[Real King Kong]

No mention of 1 title per division...should be top of the list imo.

[Redd Foxx]

It's strength is that fighters can have a lot of influence on their own careers. That's also it's weakness. As much as I want things to be consolidated, I don't want to see fighters treated like they have been in the UFC where it's their way or the highway.
No easy fix other than promoters and fighters coming together to make better fights happen. I'm afraid the business will have to take a big hit before that happens.

[_Maxi]

It's strength is that fighters can have a lot of influence on their own careers. That's also it's weakness. As much as I want things to be consolidated, I don't want to see fighters treated like they have been in the UFC where it's their way or the highway.
No easy fix other than promoters and fighters coming together to make better fights happen. I'm afraid the business will have to take a big hit before that happens.

Great post. The business needs to lose money first, correct. I understand that they are risking their health but when they demand millions in order to make a fight, we should turn the tv off.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Make it illegal for fighters to be locked into deals with a promoter..


Every fighter should be a free agent at all times, free to make the biggest fight, which the promoters would bid against each other,, insuring the best fights get made, and fighters get the biggest possible payday

[The Hammer]

1. Enforcement of anti clinching/holding rules.

2. Boxers should be deducted a point for excessive running, in scoring rounds judges should consider who backed off and who tried to make a fight of it

3. Promoters should not be permitted to keep boxers inactive against their will - if a promoter does not get them at least 2 fights in a calendar year (a fight every 6 months ) they should become free agents

[Robbie Barrett]

My ideas are:

1. Go back to same day weigh in, about three hours before the fight, so we get rid of weight cheaters. You care about your health? go fight at the division you belong.
2. Enforcement of anti clinching/holding rules. Casuals hate clinching, they want to see action. (Yes, I'm a casual too).
3. Champions have to fight mandatories or either unify right after they won the title.
4. Make fight night weights public so that we know who is cutting too much weight to fight on an inferior division.
5. Implementation of 10/9.5 scoring for close rounds. If we use that scoring, we have Garcia losing an UD against Peterson, for instance. Garcia won 6-7 rounds but most of them were no action rounds and he barely landed 2 or 3 punches. Peterson won 5-6 rounds really hitting him with several hard shots, leaving his face all marked. Yet he was labeled as the loser.

Mandatories 90% of the time are absolute garbage mismatches.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

My ideas are:

1. Go back to same day weigh in, about three hours before the fight, so we get rid of weight cheaters. You care about your health? go fight at the division you belong.
2. Enforcement of anti clinching/holding rules. Casuals hate clinching, they want to see action. (Yes, I'm a casual too).
3. Champions have to fight mandatories or either unify right after they won the title.
4. Make fight night weights public so that we know who is cutting too much weight to fight on an inferior division.
5. Implementation of 10/9.5 scoring for close rounds. If we use that scoring, we have Garcia losing an UD against Peterson, for instance. Garcia won 6-7 rounds but most of them were no action rounds and he barely landed 2 or 3 punches. Peterson won 5-6 rounds really hitting him with several hard shots, leaving his face all marked. Yet he was labeled as the loser.

Same day weigh ins should definitely return. I've always been in favor of that.

The clinching thing could be solved if referees didn't get involved as much and told the fighters to punch and get out more. Along with that, most don't know how to fight on the inside. They get close, clinch and look at the referee for help. That's not boxing, much less prize fighting. Roberto Duran should give an open training class on in-fighting every day for any and every fighter to come in and watch, religiously. The better in-fighters we have, the more you will see of it. Then boxing will start looking like the 40s and 50s again, which I am all for.

The titles thing is clearly a big mess. I'd love to see 8 or 9 divisions and one champ per division. At least world champ. Heck, keep the others and make them regional titles. But I honestly don't see it changing. The WBA is acting like it's committing an act of mercy to clear up their ridiculous extra belts and they are taking a long time to do it, too.

I can't complain too much as of late, though. We have been seeing some of the best fight the best in Crawford- Postol, with Santa-Cruz-Frampton and some other good match-ups on the horizon, including of course, Kovalev-Ward which looks like it has a lot of potential and questions will be answered.

[pacphobia]

Last man standing match for every title fight.

[Zaroku]

No mention of 1 title per division...should be top of the list imo.

Exactly!! Well said.