How to Fix Professional Boxing

Matthew Robi

The nature of boxing is one of the world's most entertaining/competitive sports ever created, and yet it is still nowhere near its potential. Even the most maniacal boxing fan will agree boxing is not very popular in most parts of the U.S.

Now you might be wondering, well, why might that be? A child could tell you that a major issue is there are too many titles. But it’s not that simple, politics and greed have tarnished boxing for many years. There is not one single fix that would re-establish boxing instantaneously. The WBC must put a real effort into rejuvenating what was once the most thrilling sport known to man, professional boxing.

-- Let’s take a look at a few things the WBC NEEDS to rework in order to be acknowledged as an elite market:

1. As alluded to earlier, there should only be one champion in each weight class

- Boxing is the only professional sport where there are simultaneous champions. Having multiple champions diminish's the value of the belt itself. I think it's ok to have 2 champions per weight class at the most, that way it's more exciting when a champion unifies the belts and becomes the undisputed champion or lineal champion. But besides that, too many belts are bad for the sport. Anytime a causal fan cannot name the current champions, the organization is doing something horribly wrong.

2. Remove the unrealistic standard of never losing

- After Floyd Mayweather's historical run of 50-0, the boxing world has attained an impossible expectation that great boxers never lose. Which is simply not the case and has never been the case. If you look back into the history of boxing all of the greats have lost on multiple occasions. Sugar Ray Leonard lost 3 times, Muhammed Ali lost 5 times, and Mike Tyson lost 6 times. This is detrimental because the top fighters are all avoiding each other because they are terrified of staining their records. This doesn't even make sense because Floyd attained 50-0 while simultaneously fighting the best boxers. Floyd defeated 22 world champions after all. Everyone loses in our current scenario because the best fighters never find out who is really the best, and the fans miss out on the greatest possible fights. As of right now, the best fighters are consistently fighting nobodies to maintain a shiny record. The best way to go about fixing this is for the franchisees/media teams to help the boxers maintain relevance after tough losses/stop the glamorization of zero losses. Not everyone can be Floyd Mayweather.

3. Reduce the number of rounds

- Boxing rounds should be reduced from 12 rounds to 8 rounds. This way the boxers will give displays more accurate to their capabilities. And more importantly, 8 rounds is way more consumable for the casual fan and new fans. Good luck trying to convince someone who doesn't have a particular interest in boxing to sit down for 70+ minutes and watch an entire boxing match. Especially considering there is also an entire undercard to watch.

4. Remove a few weight classes

- There are too many weight classes for fans to keep track of. They should remove 2 of them so there are 8 rather than 10 weight classes. It's probably a good idea to just keep the most popular ones/the ones that make them the most money.

5. Remove any & all speculation of “fixed” fights

- Boxing needs to adopt a new scoring system to reach maximum objectivity. Additionally, they need to clarify what it takes in order to win by decision in a way that's easy for wandering consumers to understand.

6. A Brand new league?

- Past sanctuaries have disrespected/cheated both the athletes and fans far too many times. The damage done may be irreparable and might require a fresh slate. In which case, a new league sounds attractive and could reform a fanbase from the ground up. We already know that fans are loyal to the athletes, not the organizations so if a new sanction could entice the top performers such as Canelo Alvarez, Anthony Joshua, or Lomachenko to join them, it’s totally not out of the question to form a new league.

7. Athletes need to utilize Social Media better

- Top boxers need to take notes from many of the MMA fighters and learn how to navigate social media properly. The most popular fighters have a balance of edge (that makes groups of haters), and wholesomeness (that creates a strong fanbase).