Unfair Sanctioned Matchups Are Hurting Boxing
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
When asked why he took a bout recently in Pennsylvania he had not trained for, a professional boxer who shall remain nameless told this reporter “I got money to pay my bills. I got money to buy Christmas presents for my children. It was nice!” The boxer, who got knocked out in the first round, had not trained for the bout, as with most of his bouts.
Having witnessed a number of boxers exiting in the first round who obviously took bouts unprepared for them, it became obvious these ‘stiffs’ were the sort of boxers professional matchmakers, promoters and managers were deliberately seeking out so they could protect their investments.
The concept goes beyond ring safety. Before state athletic commissions can preach the holy gospel to me about how they know what they are doing and they know better, they should look at themselves. No amount of safety training is sufficient at ringside when the matchups are not matchups at all.
Ring safety begins NOT with the training of officials. Ring safety begins with a universal knowledge of the records of the fighters, and putting together matchups which are reasonable and prudent. I never believed this could be done at the last minute for any reason. When a fighter has not had a serious six to eight week camp, risk becomes liability. This is being allowed to occur on top of the usual risk referees and ring doctors have to deal with in the normal course of events during a boxing card.
Witnessing three fighters getting knocked out in the first round on a recent card who were not prepared for their matches but showed up for the paycheck, sudden recognition came to fruition. Beyond records, athletic commissions should ask the matchmakers how long the ‘opponents’ have been in training and take a deeper look at circumstance. Medical examinations are not enough. Prevention of ring injury begins with the act of preventing bad matchups. Just to match fights to produce a card, or to save a card, is insufficient reason to justify sanctioning it.
More ring tragedies are likely to occur in the near future in boxing if bad matchups continue to take place in states where safety standards are supposed to be higher than the rest, not lower. The ring reporter has to make magnificent preparations before covering a boxing card. Boxing commissions should also do their homework. The propensity of first round knockouts in recent memory is evidence of a poor understanding of the game, in my view. Athletic commissions need to take a deeper look at the preparations of the fighters coming in before allowing them to fight, and look past the ring records at that point. Sound judgment precludes allowing fighters who have not done the work from participating in a boxing card. It’s common sense, it’s that simple.
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