AS THINGS STAND, you could say we are now right in the thick of the championship rounds when it comes to our bid to put boxing back on the box.
Our intention is to stage our first post-lockdown show in the middle of July and we are currently in the process of finalising the matches for a sequence of fight cards.
Like everybody else, we have had a lot of time on our hands over the last ten weeks or so, but we were able to put a good chunk of it to good use in formulating safe and efficient protocols to enable us to return while protecting the health of everybody concerned.
It will be far from normal to start off with and many fight week features will simply not be possible in the traditional fashion. Pre-fight contact will have to be minimised and multiple testing procedures put in place. It is going to be a sanitised experience and probably a bit surreal, but it is the way it has to be in order to deliver boxing to the fans at this point in time.
Government guidelines have now been updated to enable elite athletes to return to work and the ones who ticked over and kept their weight in check will reap the benefits of their sacrifices in the weeks ahead.
We have been acutely aware throughout this difficult time of the need to get the fighting flag flying once again and us returning in these circumstances is for the good of the sport as a whole, the broadcasters, the fans and, most of all, the fighters.
Particularly the younger ones who might be struggling to make ends meet and really need to be getting the fights in at this stage of their careers.
It isn’t going to be a profitable project for the promoters, but these fighters entrust us with steering their careers and we have a duty to them to provide a platform for them to successfully progress in the sport.
We also have an obligation to our broadcaster to deliver live boxing for the fans that subscribe.
We all know that it will not be the same without the fans making each event a special occasion from their vantage points in the arenas, so it is down to us to create a visually appealing spectacle that will make for good viewing.
We will be in position to reveal where we are to stage our productions very soon and the location will give us enormous scope to be creative, while not heightening the discomfort of anyone who might suffer from hay fever…
Like, I am sure, all of you I cannot wait for boxing to get going again and to crack on with the development of our brilliant young prospects and soon-to-be title contenders.
Hopefully then it will only be a matter of not too long a time until we can start plotting the blockbuster shows that we had pencilled in before the pause button was pressed on normal daily life.
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