WILL “BARE KNUCKLE BOXING” TAKE OFF IN 2012 OR RE-DIE?
Professor Chuck Marbry
Liberty, NC– As RingTalk.com has made the case again and again that from a “medical stand point...Bare Knuckle Boxing is statistically safer than gloved boxing” and study after study bare that fact out. However, the Professor loves boxing, and because I love it, I cannot just stand by and watch it kill itself. So I propose that we, the fans of boxing begin an “Occupy Anywhere Else” movement if we are going to save boxing.
POWER BROKERS LINE THEIR POCKETS, SCREW THE FANS
It is painfully obvious that the powers that control boxing are oblivious to the ills that are eating away at our beloved sport, and will continue to look the other way as long as we buy their tickets and their over priced PPV’s and they make a buck. The only thing, THE ONLY THING that will get their attention is to squeeze their wallets. Logic will not sway the powers that be. If logic would work we would not have a system with four major professional sanctioning bodies and at last count 17 minor professional sanctioning bodies with 17 weight classes with a potential of 587 belt holders. 587 potential belt holders multiplied times each “title” fight sanctioning fees, plus all other monies a promoter can get equals a ton of money. And boxing slowly dies while the powers that be continue to get rich. No, logic will not work.
AND THEN THE S*IT WE ARE FORCED TO SMELL!
Then you have the issue of inept judges. In Atlantic City earlier this year the decision that Paul Williams got over Erislandy Lara was robbery. All three judges were eventually suspended because of their ineptness or crookedness involved in the scoring of that bout. Then just this weekend you had the scoring in the Andre Ward-Carl Froch, in which the right fighter still got the decision, but the actual scoring of two of the judges was “criminal.” And these are just two recent examples that led to a poll of sports of sports fans’ recently that said a majority of them believed that boxing was fixed. But the powers that be don’t really care because their bottom line, the almighty dollar is still rolling in for them.
TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS NOT IN BOXING GAME
And while the powers that be continue to get rich, the sport itself and thus boxers, and us, the fans continue to get the short end of the stick. Poor quality fights, inept judging, watered down “championships,” outrageously priced PPV’s, which all will continue as long as the promoters continue to make money. And they will continue to make money as long as we continue to support whatever they do, and what they have done is make boxing the slum of sports. It has become the laughing-stock of athletics. It even worse than professional wrestling, as wrestling at least has the integrity to admit what it is.
READY TO START YOUR OWN “OCCUPY ANYWHERE ELSE” OFFICE?
So, in 2012, in order to ultimately save boxing, I propose an “Occupy Anywhere Else” but the boxing arena or in front of the TV with a PPV on, a movement to not put dollars into the wallets the powers that be in boxing until they get their act together. In the meantime, support amateur boxing, amateur MMA, UFC and BKB. By the way, I feel that Bare Knuckle Boxing has the potential to be the next big thing!
Professor Chuck Marbry