Once 25 ¢, is Ring Magazine worth $8.95?
“BOXING 101″ CLASS FOR YOU FANS
Las Vegas, NV– I learned a long time ago, that if you are looking for an honest answer to anything about the fight game, you better be able to think for yourself, and the last thing you want to do is believe what a promoter tells you. Boxing promoters, for the most part (there is an occasional exception) spend a huge amount of time trying to convince each other and themselves that they and they alone have (a) “The next great thing” and (b) “The Formula” for how to produce a successful promotion.
PROMOTERS STROKE THEIR EGOS & GET RICHER
I am more convinced than ever after the last several “Big Fights,” that if boxing promoters would spend more time, energy, and yes, money on actually promoting the sport of boxing, instead of promoting themselves (‘Ahem’ Only in America), the sport would be healthier, and boxing would not be what it is today, a reasonable facsimile of the skinny kid in those old Charles Atlas ads getting sand kicked in our faces by every new MMA (see Dana White & the UFC) “bully” that shows up and gets the promotional thing right!
THOSE ROBOTIC HEAVYWEIGHTS SICKEN ME
So, I hear a lot of moaning and groaning about the state of boxing today. I see a lot of finger pointing at the heavyweight division because they are all boring Europeans who fight like robots with only a jab and overhand right, and some come complete with a crystal jaw, and have last names only a European mother could love. “Americans don’t want to see them fight, they are boring, and most importantly, Americans don’t want to PAY to see them fight!”
RING MAGAZINE NOW OWNED BY PROMOTER OSCAR
And there is a ring of truth to that. BUT, if we are honestly concerned with the health of the sport…speaking of ring, as in “The Ring” magazine, the “Bible of Boxing,” since promoter Oscar De La Hoya has taken ownership of it, how exactly do you expect to draw in the casual fan with a cover price of $8.95?
YOU CAN GET A STEAK IN SOME PLACES FOR LESS
For that price, I can go to_________________ ( Fill in the fast food chain of your choice) and purchase enough “fun meals” to feed a medium Third World country! Plus you get a toy! Now, I am not a marketing Guru, but I am pretty sure you don’t attract a new fan base at nine bucks a copy. I don’t know, call me “Old School” but I thought the idea was to “hook ‘em first, sell ‘em later,” not “repel ‘em from the get-go”. But what do I know, I write about the fight game because I actually give a damn about it, not because I’m making any money off it, cause I’m not!
PACKAGING & SLICKNESS DOESN’T MEAN IT’LL SELL
Sure, the new Ring is all slick and in color now, but in the real world un/underemployment is still around 24-25%, and that is where the majority of boxing fans or would be fans live now, and always have! Like it or not, boxing is a “Blue-Collar” sport. Think about it…my hero, “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier came from nothing, he had that “stuff in the basement,” became world heavyweight champion, beat Muhammad Ali, and his son, while talented, grew up the son of a millionaire.
WILL NOT CONTRIBUTE TO PAY PER SCREW!
Same with George Foreman. Grew up with nothing, had that same “stuff” became and became champion twice, his son and daughter gave the fight game a go, but they also grew up children of a millionaire. Even Ali grew up in the modest of means. Boxing is a blue collar sport and has, if you let it, its largest fan base in the blue collar types. And it shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that shelling out $50 or $60 bucks for a PPV with an under card of questionable fights, and a main event where one corner either “mails it in” or in the case of Shane Mosley, “left his balls at the arena door.” Simply put, I ain’t buying it from you again!
WAIT TILL NEXT WEEK OR WATCH IT ONLINE
I will wait until next week, and watch it for free, or if it’s like many “fights” over the last several years, I will be content to simply read the recaps, because you have simply priced boxing out of what its worth.
PROMOTERS, THE PIMPS ARE TO BLAME!
So, Mr. or Ms. boxing promoter, are you going to continue to produce fiasco after fiasco, and blame it on everything from global warming to lack of talent? Are you going to continue to charge outrageous prices for PPV shows and fan magazines that wind up being as satisfying as week old cotton candy while continuing to act as if none of this is your fault? Do we, the fans, have to do like they did in that old movie “Network” and all go to our windows and start screaming, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it any more!”
THERE HAVE BEEN SOME NOVEL IDEAS
You know, the “Tuff Man” contests had a good idea, a lot of action, affordable, good format, while the “Super-Six” tournament, in need of some tweaking, is not a bad idea. And in the UK, the “Prizefighter” idea is “simply smashing” and has breathed some life into the sport over there. So the Professor is not just pontificating, I am giving some good ideas. I am a firm believer in “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” but I also am a firm believer in “If it ain’t working, do something!”
Professor Chuck Marbry