Considering how exciting boxing is, how easy it is to follow even with a rudimentary understanding of what it takes to win a fight, and the incredible cast of characters that define the show, it's a shame the sport isn't (universally) regarded as one of the biggest on the planet.
Some would argue that yes, given the exceptional nature of the first six months of 2024. But only those who promote their business from inside the boxing bubble and reap some of the benefits have any validity to such a claim. Outside that bubble, where public interest is typically piqued only once or twice a year, the picture is somewhat different.
Despite big events like Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, boxing is simply not a sport that gets attention very often. Boxing is known for putting on big fights every now and then, but who else besides you and me pays attention to the thousands of fights that take place so frequently that boxing becomes a staple sport in your household?
Much of the lack of interest stems from boxing's long-standing (but understandable) resistance to becoming an organised enterprise: after all, boxing is not a team sport and has never been bound to a time, calendar year or fight schedule, so the tried-and-true format of mainstream sports, where leagues, cups or tournaments can be easily enjoyed at set times and dates, doesn't exist.
While the sudden appearance of a show-stopping bout undoubtedly generates more interest simply because it happens so rarely, more familiar confusions often get in the way of the best fights, and while an insane number of belts on offer may indeed mean more frequent “world title” fights, it only confuses casual sports fans. If you don't think so, try telling the million or so people who jumped on the hype around Fury vs. Usyk that Daniel Dubois is now the heavyweight champion of the world and watch their eyes glaze over when you try to explain why, just two months later, he's no longer the undisputed champion.
In recent months, thanks in part to the involvement of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority (headed by Turki Al-Al-Sik), there has been a surge in the number of top-level bouts, as well as title unifications. This is a welcome trend. There is little debate that boxing is in good shape, so it may seem a bit churlish to criticize here, especially with Al-Al-Sik planning even more.
But will the sport really have a healing effect, or is it just a giant silk bandaid on an old wound? After all, for change to be permanent, for improvements to spread and for implementation to be sustainable in the long term, more than sporadic funding injections from the Middle East is needed. Moreover, while fancy and eye-catching contests can adorn your shop window, it is just as important that the rest of the store is well-stocked and well-managed for your business to truly thrive.
Here are six things that boxing needs to work on to become a truly elite sport.
- One World Champion in each category
The sport has four sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO) – five if you include the IBO – all with different rankings and none of them have a governing body other than the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), to which they must report.
So please bear with me and listen: the champions of one organization cannot be ranked by other organizations, and therefore there is no single rule, committee, or sanctioning body that demands that the best champions fight the best champions.
The rules of the WBC, perhaps the most influential of all ranking organizations, state that “Champions of other boxing organizations are not classified in the top ten because they cannot compete for the WBC title due to boxing obligations. Thus, fighters who are willing to compete for the WBC championship will be given such an opportunity.”No sport can thrive in such an absurd situation.
While veteran boxing fans have reluctantly accepted the system, studied the conflicting rankings and gone mad over the insanity, it's incredibly difficult to explain to people with even a passing interest why there are five or more “world” champions in a given weight class.
World title bouts in the same weight class are often held multiple times in a short space of time, sometimes even on the same program, with different boxers competing in every bout, and each belt holder being introduced to the crowd with a straight face. of World champion. A great example would be the three-week period from October 17 to November 7, 2020, during which Teofimo Lopez, Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney all boasted the lightweight world title. Imagine for a moment that you were new to the sport, thoroughly enjoying Lopez's defeat of Vasiliy Lomachenko and becoming enthralled with the story of him becoming the new champion at 135 pounds, only to have not one but two fighters emerge as supposed world dominators at lightweight.
Dubois vs. Anthony Joshua is a great heavyweight matchup and likely was settled at the negotiating table because the IBF belt is on the line, but are they going to dress this up as a world title fight just five months after everyone went crazy over the first unbeaten champion in 25 years? Promotional kingmakers may think the IBF title would give the bout extra luster. The truth is, Dubois vs. Joshua sells well, with or without the red leather belt.
After all, the existing championship system is too complicated to understand, and if the general public can't understand it and invest their time and money into it, the system will struggle to grow. Simply put, the sport of boxing needs a championship system that is as easy to understand as the fight itself.
Having one world champion in each weight class would eliminate that confusion and make boxing an attractive sport not only to fans but also to the general media, who, apart from the specialist media, only know that boxing exists when there are really big fights taking place.
So why have we gotten into such a mess? The proliferation of titles is attractive to both promoters and broadcasters because more bouts can be dressed up as “world title” fights. Some argue that having a single champion limits the opportunities for challengers, and to an extent that's true. But will other sports suffer because only a select few can win the top prize?
The fact that so many title fights go unnoticed outside of boxing shows that too many belts only leads to less interest and less quality. This isn't just the fault of promoters, broadcasters or governing bodies. The belts are now so ingrained in the collective consciousness of boxing that changing the system would require a monumental industry-wide effort.
Is there a solution? With four (or even five) certifying bodies in existence, just certifying one of them might help. But that would require the remaining bodies to address their current policies – rankings, certification fees, close ties to certain powerful people, stance on performance enhancing drugs – and really set themselves apart from the rest. Some are better than others, but it's unrealistic to expect one body to rise and others to decline.
There are frequent rumors that a superpower, say Saudi Arabia or Dana White, might buy all the bodies to gain complete control. But then what?
A more sensible solution would be to build a better system, one that would eventually render the old system completely irrelevant. “That's never going to happen,” everyone laments. But why can't it happen? If you can spend half a billion dollars on a single event (reportedly the cost of hosting the Fury-Francis Ngannou fight last year), surely there's the money to overhaul a broken system.
Creating a title that only the best fighters can challenge for would gain an instant following. And being the best fighter in the world would really appeal to the ego and competitive spirit of top boxers, especially if there was a clear path to that status. Elimination bouts would be big events — think quarter-finals or semi-finals of a major tournament. And deciding that the championship must be fought three times a year would ensure top-class bouts on a regular basis.
Adding extra cash prizes for winning and defending titles, as opposed to the sanctioning fees that boxers hoping to fight for alphabet titles must currently pay, would also make the process more attractive.
Part II (of 6) will be released tomorrow (July 10th).
