Biggest changes in Boxing if/when the UFC/WME comes in? Sanctioning Bodies dead?

[USMCer]

WME-IMG, parent company of the UFC, is in talks to purchase Boxing's PBC and is rumored to be in talks to buy Top Rank, as well.

HBO Boxing is dead. DAZN is a new kid on the block. ESPN is all in on MMA, broadcasting partners with the UFC. Bob Arum is two hundred and ninety eight years old. If and when the UFC/WME gets into Boxing, they will instantly be a big player on the scene.

I get the feeling that we're sitting right on the precipice of major upheaval in the sport of Boxing.

What are some of the biggest changes that will happen if/when the UFC/WME gets into Boxing?


--- EDIT/UPDATE - June 18, 2019 ---


"You just have to fugken break it and rebuild it"

[Pigeons]

PBC and Top Rank purchases would corner the American market that's for sure. Let's go back to 8 weight classes, one belt per weight class.

[USMCer]

One thing I think we could see happening is that the UFC/WME brushes aside the WBC, WBO, IBF, WBC and really put the onus on the "sanctioning bodies" to justify their very existence.


Boxing needed a sanctioning bodies, once upon a time, but not anymore. Now, sanctioning bodies and the politics behind them, they are a hindrance to the sport.


Read the U.S. Congress findings in the Muhammad Ali Act:

(5) The sanctioning organizations which have proliferated in the boxing industry have not established credible and objective criteria to rate professional boxers, and operate with virtually no industry or public oversight. Their ratings are susceptible to manipulation, have deprived boxers of fair opportunities for advancement, and have undermined public confidence in the integrity of the sport.

(6) Open competition in the professional boxing industry has been significantly interfered with by restrictive and anti-competitive business practices of certain promoters and sanctioning bodies, to the detriment of the athletes and the ticket-buying public. Common practices of promoters and sanctioning organizations represent restraints of interstate trade in the United States.

What do they really do?

[COVID-19]

It would really help if we didn’t have so many belts and different media companies trying to take their piece.

[Eff Pandas]

I don't think there is necessarily any changes with sanctioning bodies. You can't run a promotion & a sanctioning body so Endeavor couldn't do what they do in MMA. In fact its something they might not be able to do in MMA if the MAA for MMA ever gets passed. Thats why the UFC is fighting so hard against that bill becoming a thing.

I think the most notable difference is that it likely leads to a PBC product coming to ESPN eventually or PBC going where the UFC goes in the future cuz right now I think the UFC is locked in with ESPN for several years & PBC is locked in with Fox for several years (6 iirc). Idk how handshake-y the Showtime/PBC situation is or not to speculate too much on that. And that gives where ever the UFC/PBC were to land at in the future a lot of power in the combat sports sphere.

[TheFrog]

They'll start putting a lot of promotion in to offensive minded fighters. A lot of guys will be "like the next Mike Tyson" according to them. Hardcore boxing fans will hate a lot of what they do but casuals will probably be down with it.

[USMCer]

I don't think there is necessarily any changes with sanctioning bodies. You can't run a promotion & a sanctioning body so Endeavor couldn't do what they do in MMA. In fact its something they might not be able to do in MMA if the MAA for MMA ever gets passed. Thats why the UFC is fighting so hard against that bill becoming a thing.

I think the most notable difference is that it likely leads to a PBC product coming to ESPN eventually or PBC going where the UFC goes in the future cuz right now I think the UFC is locked in with ESPN for several years & PBC is locked in with Fox for several years (6 iirc). Idk how handshake-y the Showtime/PBC situation is or not to speculate too much on that. And that gives where ever the UFC/PBC were to land at in the future a lot of power in the combat sports sphere.

If they ignore the sanctioning bodies... what happens? Ignoring them might just "pull back the curtain" on the sanctioning bodies... Do we even need them?... Are they actually a hindrance to Boxing? Of course WME would need to have a large roster of fighters to be able to influence the change, for it to work.

[USMCer]

[Eff Pandas]

If they ignore the sanctioning bodies... what happens?

If for example all PBC fighters threw their belts in the trash & didn't accept titles moving forward I think they might get ostracized from the ABC Groups at some point like the IBF seemingly does with contenders they don't believe want their belt currently.

So then DAZN & ESPN would have all the champions & gather more limelight in the immediate future.

Long term its highly speculative how one of the main power houses in boxing denying titles exist would work out for them. I think in the immediate it'd look bad & people in boxing would be calling them duckers & scared for a long time.

Ignoring them might just "pull back the curtain" on the sanctioning bodies... Do we even need them?...

What would it pull back exactly?

And you need someone who's a 3rd party handing out belts. You can't have a promoter doing it cuz thats asking for more corruption them the ABC Groups doing it now.

Are they actually a hindrance to Boxing?

They didn't used to be. Obviously the more that came into play the more diluted the term "world champion" became.

Of course WME would need to have a large roster of fighters to be able to influence the change, for it to work.

If you got all the main players in all the main divisions you could elect your own 3rd party. Thats actually a one way you could make it work. But its a big ask to get it done. You either need all the main guys in the main divisions as stated which requires a lot of money & sustained ability to hold the main players. Or you'd need to get all the main promoters & platforms to work together to create a 3rd party who they all agree would work better for their combined interest then the current 4 world champion world works for them which would require a lot of mfers who have lil interest typically in working together to work together for the greater good of boxing instead of the greater good of their bank account.

[USMCer]

If for example all PBC fighters threw their belts in the trash & didn't accept titles moving forward I think they might get ostracized from the ABC Groups at some point like the IBF seemingly does with contenders they don't believe want their belt currently.

So then DAZN & ESPN would have all the champions & gather more limelight in the immediate future.

Long term its highly speculative how one of the main power houses in boxing denying titles exist would work out for them. I think in the immediate it'd look bad & people in boxing would be calling them duckers & scared for a long time.

What would it pull back exactly?

And you need someone who's a 3rd party handing out belts. You can't have a promoter doing it cuz thats asking for more corruption them the ABC Groups doing it now.

They didn't used to be. Obviously the more that came into play the more diluted the term "world champion" became.

If you got all the main players in all the main divisions you could elect your own 3rd party. Thats actually a one way you could make it work. But its a big ask to get it done. You either need all the main guys in the main divisions as stated which requires a lot of money & sustained ability to hold the main players. Or you'd need to get all the main promoters & platforms to work together to create a 3rd party who they all agree would work better for their combined interest then the current 4 world champion world works for them which would require a lot of mfers who have lil interest typically in working together to work together for the greater good of boxing instead of the greater good of their bank account.

As far as I can tell, Boxing's "sanctioning bodies" are just made up, they're nothing "official." ABC is the organization of the different State Athletic Commissions, not the "Sanctioning Bodies" right? What obligations do the State Athletic Commissions have to the WBC, IBF, etc?

MMA is regulated/overseen by the ABC. MMA puts on fights all over the country, all over the world, without being "sanctioned" by any third-party organization. They have Champions, they have rankings, they make quality matchups (for the most part).

Read my previous post, above... the U.S. Congress findings in the Ali Act does not reflect well on the Boxing's "sanctioning" organizations.

Maybe a third-party is worth having in the sport, but at what expense? In the current state of affairs, "sanctioning bodies" are just money grubbers more than anything (like people in the IOC in the Olympics, Bowl Game committees in College Football, but I digress). What do those "sanctioning fee" go to in Boxing? If you don't pay them, they "take your belt"... what do you call that? Ignoring these mutherfugger would raise the issue and open more people's eyes.