By Elliot Worsell
WHILE it is perhaps not unusual to be told that a press conference is “open to the public”, it is still strange to take such a thing and actually take it for granted – which it is today. Just last week, in fact, there was another press conference about another big game, which was again sold – yes, sold – on the basis that it would be “open to the public” and anyone could attend.
I can only assume this was done in the hope of attracting a crowd and getting attention, but I still find it to be inappropriate, completely contrary to the purpose of a press conference. suppose to represent.
But again, I can understand. Because if you’ve ever tried to arrange a press conference, you’re familiar with the anxiety that comes with it. That is, you know the feeling of being responsible for the people who come and making sure that all the rows of seats you’re planning to arrange, at the scheduled start time, are at least filled with journalists.
A harder job than it looks, success often depends entirely on the scale of the fight being promoted. Organize a big fight, for example, and there’s no need to pester the media to attend, nor worry about how many people will show up. On the other hand, try arranging a press conference for an upcoming family fight at a recreation center and it won’t be long before you’re in a panic, calling every journalist you know, begging them to show up and in return, not having to embarrass yourself.
LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 07: Trainer Brian McIntyre (L) and boxer Terence Crawford attend a press conference at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on June 07, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Crawford will challenge WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn for his title on June 09 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Those were tough days, and you always found yourself wishing the hotel ballroom where the press conference was being held could also accommodate a hundred or so fans. They could even have a seat. They could even ask questions and, as so many do today, dress up as journalists.
There is of course no right or wrong way to hold a press conference, as long as you ultimately get the level of attention and publicity you desire. But there has clearly been a shift in the way it is done in recent years, which not only reflects the change in media coverage of boxing but also, to some extent, facilitates and encourages it.
In other words, by bringing fans closer to the press box, the people who run boxing events have moved closer to their own ideal world: a room full of people who are just happy to be there, happy to have their picture taken, happy to see them. In this scenario, there would be no hard questioning, no search for truth or even any insight, and no need, on the part of the promoter, to be anything other than a performer for a carefully selected crowd of family and friends.
The big change, in this respect, is all about gratitude, I suppose. Whereas in years past there was always a sense that a press conference consisted of a high table full of people who were grateful that the media were in attendance and would, by attending, be doing the promotion on their behalf, now there is the impression that those roles have been reversed. What you tend to have now is a room full of people grateful to be with their favorite fighters and promoters (no, really), each of whom is less interested in reporting on what’s happening than they are tweeting about it, just to show they were there.
This dynamic is then only reinforced when you consider how, thanks to social media, fighters and promoters no longer rely on journalists to do their jobs in the way they once did. In their eyes, all the selling is now done by them; a belief never greater than today, in fact, when even promoters have outsourced their promotion to money men in the Middle East.
If this is true, a press conference will no longer be anything more than a chore, or just something to get through. For younger people, hopefully it retains at least some of its appeal, but for older people, whose social media followings far outnumber anyone listening to them speak at a press conference, it becomes a box-ticking exercise, an ordeal to endure.
Which is fine, by the way. Who really wants to be interrogated or forced to think beyond the cliches in public? It’s much better, for them, to have a personal promoter, someone who’s always on their toes, giving them light-hearted questions for TV and YouTube. Much better to reveal as little about yourself as possible and save the good stuff for the ‘gram.
Besides, because it’s now a largely visual sport, there are other figures doing the heavy lifting on their behalf. If not the promoter, then there’s the host. There’s the manager. There’s the father. Each of these figures, regardless of their affiliation or intelligence, is now just as capable of selling an event as the actual fighters involved. Why? Because in the end, the only people buying it are the excited fans – phones raised, caps lock keys on – just grateful to be invited and happy to be there.
