HOWEVER boxers say they understand that boxing is a business, it’s often not through grudging acceptance rather than an inherent understanding that they’re just an asset in the sport – something that can be moved, exchanged, and ultimately thrown away altogether. The same goes for the NFL, NBA, MLS, and any other American sport recognized by an acronym, where you can also learn that you’ve been traded or slashed via Twitter.
Maturity plays an important role in performance, but experience in the sport indicates that, like any business that is slow to realize the value of its employees as people, boxing put profits ahead of boxers. The defeat of Eubank Jnr-Benn gave us a global testament and timely reminder of the ruthlessness of boxing’s business practices.
It may seem naive for a boxer to make money and not think they’re in business, but oftentimes, professional boxers think of themselves as the first to enter a sport and business second – or at least. they do so when they start out. Deep down, many of them want the people who train, manage, and motivate them to care about their careers and assets as much as they do, not just as a commodity, a business generator. revenue or a means to an end. However, the terrible reality is that it is not likely to happen.
Moving from a sport that is a priority to a business-oriented mindset is not an easy transition for boxers. While boxing resembles a gig economy, throughout history they’ve been conditioned to accept a graduated model – in error – to the point where they’ve been punished by said model. For most athletes and women, their careers begin with dreams and idealism fueled by youth and promise. Fighting for titles and medals instead of paying like an amateur is seen as a necessary part of the journey, an organic route to that lofty final destination. Following these steps only makes you feel a little more right, but more importantly, they lay the necessary groundwork for the more demanding professional battlefield that awaits.
Boxers can be held hostage to this process – by their fans and by themselves. Fans want to believe that the fighters they watch are motivated to do what’s right for the sport, including entertaining them, fighting for their legacy, proving their heart or a other legitimate reasons. Perhaps there are warriors who believe this as well. It is considered too serious for boxers to adopt a profit-first approach, like Floyd Mayweather’s, to the sport, especially young people, who, in the eyes of the world follow watch, should be there for its love.
Remember when Chris Eubank was rounded up for claiming that ‘boxing is a game of cups? That comment developed a life of its own, with Eubank being mocked and scorned as if he had stabbed the heart of the sport. It’s possible he did so because over the next 30 years and claims were given to Eubank because of his objections to the promoters that seemed to put money before his son’s safety. .
Chris Eubank Jr with father Chris Eubank Snr (Mark Robinson/Getty Images)
So it’s easy to see why boxers might frown when it comes to money rather than showing their commitment to the sport. But shouldn’t they be more adept at the business in preparation for the inevitable ‘boxing is a business’ wake-up call and more? Unlike many other sports where agents, financial advisors and lawyers are drafted early to protect the interests of their clients, many boxers often have to rely on boxing managers who may know the dark corners of the sport and be able to maneuver their boxers but will not have the acumen needed to serve their business needs.
A wave of YouTubers, MMA fighters and retired sports stars flock to boxing for nothing but money. Though they weren’t taken seriously, they still found audiences willing to pay to see them, and they did it without completing the traditional steps that boxers have long had to take. They are not interested in growing through the amateur system, or in fact any system that boxing has. Their capital is fame, and they expect to be well paid for it. It’s a money move, dress up stereotypes.
While non-boxers are essentially using boxing to make big money that has been debated and seen as blasphemous, they are poised to be celebrated on major platforms like DAZN. The network may have had to try to fill its boxing schedule because the big fights were recently postponed and the big fights didn’t materialize, or maybe it saw a pattern of the future: that a boxer Having 20 million social media followers or subscribers opens up more possibilities in terms of audience and reach than a prospect in the early stages of a career, or even as an entrepreneur. The enemy has a much smaller following.
Okay, maybe that’s going too fast, but Floyd Mayweather was an early investor, having bought Logan Paul for a huge amount of money. Logan’s brother Jake, with his considerable strength and commitment to boxing, has come up with designs that provoke the sport. He has confessed his desire to break the hegemony of the sport. He has proposed a boxers association for the UFC, which will fight for a minimum wage for its fighters, increased revenue and healthcare. Obviously, the intent is that the boxers will gain some benefit from it.
Sure, it’s just saying right now, but given his brand and reach it’s not entirely unfathomable. Paul’s capital has ensured that boxing’s decision-makers do not close their doors on him. It would be unthinkable for a 25-year-old with limited boxing experience to be in the room with Matchroom, much less sit at the negotiating table to create a match between the richest women in history. between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, but he was there. Surely a champion as long-standing as Serrano wouldn’t have entertained Paul and his company, Most Valuable Promotions, at such a pivotal moment in her career if she hadn’t believed in her abilities. his delivery.
When Lawrence Okolie tweeted to Paul recently, congratulating him for their fight, it showed his growing prestige among the boxers. It’s also no exaggeration to imagine that Paul could have given Okolie free advice, who was experiencing contract troubles with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. It will mean a lot, like a hand in a glove.
We can see young boxers entering the sport powered by revenue generated from social media followings and brand partnerships rather than amateur medals and apprenticeships in small hall? In a world that prefers instant gratification over experience and experience, that’s not surprising. Separating the wheat from the husk would be a challenge, but in an ideal world it would represent more ownership of the profession for boxers and boxers who need to care about the public. their business.
*** Written in collaboration with Wayne Cyrus ***
