National Boxing League? Would it work?

[Wolverine]

Hey I'm doing some research on this.....
The question is how would the sport of boxing do as a league? (i.e. NFL, NBA, MLB)

Let me know what you think about things like:
Having a Franchise (i.e. The Boston Brawlers ;D)?
Head Coach (i.e. Freddy Roach)?
Scheduled fights between franchises?
One title belt in each division (maybe state and/or regional belts)?
Minor league system (like MLB)?
League Commissioner (i.e. David Stern)?
Anything else?

[Hands of Stone]

I think this would be a great idea, but I don't think it will ever happen for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, you have the 3 main boxing organizations: the WBA, IBF, and WBC. They're the organizations that govern nearly every pro boxing match. They wouldn't be willing to give up their control over sanctioning of matches, because that would mean millions in lost revenue. Of course, they might agree to take part in sanctioning something like a National Boxing League but then the argument would come up, which of those 3 would be chosen as the "main" sanctioning body?

Secondly, you have the promoters who control the big name fighters. Don King, the Goosen Brothers, Top Rank, etc. You wouldn't be able to get any known fighters in a National Boxing League without the cooperation of those promoters.

And third, it would be hard to find enough truly skilled boxers to make up enough teams, to really be considered a National League. Sure you have dime a dozen guys at the local gym who workout a couple times per week and maybe even spar, but to fight on a professional level is whole other ballgame completely. So you would need to find enough talented boxers to fill up the league. Then you have the question of, would the general public be interested enough to pay money to watch mostly unkown boxers in the leagues.

Having said that, I can also think of some very good reasons for starting a National Boxing League. The popular, prosperous and professional sports in America have National Leagues. The NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS and NBA are excellent examples. In these leagues, the players have unions, medical plans, retirement plans and collective resources that place them in the mainstream of popular culture. It is a tremendous incentive and aspiration to American youths. Boxing, on the other hand is put together piecemeal by promoters, recruiting fighters from Amateur programs, Gyms or Olympic participants, instead of harvesting fighters from High School and College programs like basketball, football and baseball do.

Just imagine how much better boxing would be with a legitimate ranking system that doesn't curry favor to influential promoters, etc. Imagine seeing great fights every week instead of mismatches eight of ten times you tune in. Having a National Boxing League should create a more competitive atmosphere for fighters, who would have to fight up the ladder or not make it to contender status. That would leave only the elite fighters at the top, instead of guys like John Ruiz, who's only claim to fame was beating an old Evander Holyfield.

Also, it would be easier to maintain orderly life in the sport. Those who disobey the rules or engage in unseemly conflicts of interest would be accountable to higher standards on a national level.

When Mike Tyson was banned from Boxing by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, he simply went and fought in Mississippi. Why did Tyson get a shot at Lewis' titles when he didn't even EARN his spot? What about guys like Chris Byrd, who earn their way to championship fights and yet sit on the sidelines while promoters and influential fighters decide who the Champions will fight instead of who they SHOULD fight. Fighters who test positive for illegal substances in New Jersey shouldn't be able to skirt the rules and go fight in New York.

Today, when casual fans tune in to a good fight where the loser is hailed the winner by questionable score cards of biased judges, who are unaccountable, boxing loses fans. Losing fans means losing money. The status quo sees great fighters die broke or ripped off by their promoters. Corrupt local commissions allow unfit fighters to be "record builders" for up and coming prospects who outweigh them, possibly damaging them forever. So with a National League, promoters, managers, referees and judges would be held accountable.

I just don't think you would ever get the alphabet organizations and promoters to agree to it.

[SOUTHPAW]

National Boxing League?

I don't think a franchise style league of teams would be too successful, considering boxing is an individual sport. Having said that though, there 100% should be a National Professional boxing commission/governing body.
Something along the lines of USABoxing (amateur body) would be great. I know that Senator John McCain of AZ was working on legislation to make it happen, but I'm not sure what's going on there.
Basically fighters need to be protected, and boxing needs to be better judged and officiated. Why is it that a boxer isn't allowd to fight in CA or NJ because of neurological impairment, yet can be licensed in another state and allowed to fight, potentially jeopardizing his life? Why is it that a fighter can soundly defeat an opponent only to "lose" a decision because the fight took place in the other guys home city/state?
We need a uniform standard of medical examinations, refereeing, judging, scoring and ranking of fighters. We could create our own championship and add legitimacy to the sport because of our national professional standards and sanctioning.
BTW..it shouldn't be just for boxing, but for ALL ring sports (kickboxing, MMA, etc.) Just my .02$

[Tom Yum]

It is a tremendous incentive and aspiration to American youths. Boxing, on the other hand is put together piecemeal by promoters, recruiting fighters from Amateur programs, Gyms or Olympic participants, instead of harvesting fighters from High School and College programs like basketball, football and baseball do.

Just imagine how much better boxing would be with a legitimate ranking system that doesn't curry favor to influential promoters, etc. Imagine seeing great fights every week instead of mismatches eight of ten times you tune in. Having a National Boxing League should create a more competitive atmosphere for fighters, who would have to fight up the ladder or not make it to contender status. That would leave only the elite fighters at the top, instead of guys like John Ruiz, who's only claim to fame was beating an old Evander Holyfield.

Having highschool and collegiate boxing programs would be a huge benefit. There are well developed wrestling programs, which employ experienced coaches and trainers - why not for boxing?

If a school district could hire the talent, the kids will come. Jobs will be created and the community would benefit. Of course, this will mean redirecting budgets - but boxing could potentially re-shape a kids life and cut down societies expense at correcting him later.

Imagine the younger kids who have no where to go before and after school, who could easily be lured into doing unproductive things. Introduce them to the boxing team and get them in the gym for an hour and a half after school working on something - technique, footwork, heavy bag, conditioning, focus mitts or sparring. When they're done, get em working on their homework. Combine 2 programs into one - Benefit Our eXperience program (BOX) - make the kids sign a statement promising they will commit to hard practice and do their homework. This could attract the generosity of experienced pro-fighters to create boxing sholarships, which leads to collegiate boxing....

I wouldn't have to go into much detail about boxing at the collegiate level. There are small, fragmented enclaves of boxers about most universitites. Each fall, Sigma Xi fraternity holds its popular fight night which is usually 3 x 1 min rounds of boxing. Some guys come in with decent fundamentals and occasionally, some experienced amateurs fight.

Creating a league of collegiate boxing teams would merge all of the boxers together.

Imagine the opportunities!

[Hands of Stone]

Having highschool and collegiate boxing programs would be a huge benefit. There are well developed wrestling programs, which employ experienced coaches and trainers - why not for boxing?

If a school district could hire the talent, the kids will come. Jobs will be created and the community would benefit. Of course, this will mean redirecting budgets - but boxing could potentially re-shape a kids life and cut down societies expense at correcting him later.

Imagine the younger kids who have no where to go before and after school, who could easily be lured into doing unproductive things. Introduce them to the boxing team and get them in the gym for an hour and a half after school working on something - technique, footwork, heavy bag, conditioning, focus mitts or sparring. When they're done, get em working on their homework. Combine 2 programs into one - Benefit Our eXperience program (BOX) - make the kids sign a statement promising they will commit to hard practice and do their homework. This could attract the generosity of experienced pro-fighters to create boxing sholarships, which leads to collegiate boxing....

I agree with you completely, Tom! I wonder how receptive a high school would be to such an idea? I'm sure most of them would have the misconception that boxing is a "violent" sport but if someone could educate them on the benefits and true idea of boxing, maybe bring along some pamphlets or such, they might be more open to it. I did quite a bit of amateur boxing when I was in the military, and had the opportunity to coach some kids at a YMCA type of program before, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever known.

I know some high schools have added martial arts programs, either as an elective or part of an after school program, so you'd think boxing would have a chance too. Heck, if I could get some type of certification I'd teach a class for free. I'll have to look into this.

[Tom Yum]

The number one key to such a program:

1. Safety - If you put together a presentation, you could go into detail about how training is focused on conditioning, building technique, working strategy and using proper safety equipment to ensure participants safety during training.

Then tie in the constant re-enforcement of being a gentleman and a good sportsman out of the ring + plus the required study hall thing.

You might also explain how training ramps up in intensity closer to competitive season to let parents or educators know that the contact is not any different than that of a football or wrestling program.

[bodhisattva]

Having highschool and collegiate boxing programs would be a huge benefit. There are well developed wrestling programs, which employ experienced coaches and trainers - why not for boxing?

Already happenned.
Only about 40 years ago many highschool programs DID have boxing teams.
Usually they were coached by the same guy who coached the wrestling.
Usually the boxers were the same guys who wrestled on the wrestling team, too.
So, in a way, we had MMA in highschools just 40 years ago..

[Wolverine]

Thanks for your replies...good input!
How do you think a minor league system would work? Like in baseball? The younger fighters could come up through AA and AAA before they made it to the "Big Leagues"?

I think as far as current promoters opposing something like this...nothing would be stopping them from owning their own teams within the league. Basically, like we have now, with a handful of big promoters controlling a stable of fighters with everyone else on the outside looking in. How do you think these ideas would work?

Thanks again for your input and please keep the ideas coming (positive and negative).

[bodhisattva]

Thanks for your replies...good input!
How do you think a minor league system would work? Like in baseball? The younger fighters could come up through AA and AAA before they made it to the "Big Leagues"?

That's how it currently works with wrestling in the schools.
Since middle school/elementary school kids don't have wrestling, usually thelocal high school wrestling coach will start "peewee" and "intramural" wrestling for the younger kids.

This way, he can catch on to the upcoming talent and he can start training kids earlier.

Boxing would work the same way.

Many big cities have boxing leagues with younger guys in it, I think?

[AlexJitsu]

My high school has boxing.

[bodhisattva]

Where you at bro? And what high school?