Great Article on how boxing's business model broken

**GrantZilla** Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:07 am

Pretty much touches up on what I and many others on here have been saying:

Take Sergio Martinez who fought in two major bouts in front of half filled arenas for one of the most prestigious titles in our sport, the middleweight championship of the world. We as Boxing fans keep lying to ourselves that it's going to get better but aside from the European and Mexican market, the sport is not growing and it's getting to the point that the future talent pool may be drying up. Ladies and Gentleman, it's time to blow the ship up. It's time to start anew and adjust the way the sport of Boxing does business. It's time to get back to basics.

Getting back to the issue of promotion, Dana White works tirelessly to promote his brand and the fighters that are under his control. He sells these fighters through constant promotion both on its platforms and through cross promotion such as reality television, radio and social networking. It's worked too; the UFC has monopolized the youth market while Boxing is still relying on the older crowd and ethnic groups who have a rich tradition with the sport to make up their audience. Young white males are non factors to many promoters who simply look to exploit the traditional markets with little eye towards expansion.

Name a fighter and I can probably list you a handful of mistakes they've made that the UFC probably wouldn't have. Andre Berto? I love Lou but can you honestly say that Andre Berto shouldn't have at least some mainstream recognition? No, instead his career has relied on site fees to make a profit while the actual selling of Berto the fighter and person has been largely nonexistent. The result? No one outside of Boxing really knows who Andre Berto is much less spend over 100 dollars on a ticket to see him fight. A young, charismatic, good looking fighter who is entering his prime is a non entity in the sports market. What's wrong with this picture? Well here's an idea. Instead of negotiating for television rights why not stake the profit of Berto's next fight on his ability to sell tickets. Take the fight out of the Casino's and into buildings that you pay for and in turn have to sell enough tickets to turn a profit? Get Berto on local television, push for every media opportunity you can get to promote the fighter and the fight. People are far more likely to buy a ticket when they actually know the guy's name and media appearances do just that. Here's an open secret too, most media loves guest spots like this because it means less time for them to fill and subsequently less work.

Also, don't dare say it's the actual sport that is the problem. Case in point, Main Events has worked tirelessly to make a name for itself in the New Jersey market and has found strong business in Tomasz Adamek and Zab Judah. You see they work to make their fighters into attractions rather than having them fight far from home on poorly promoted cards. They have built a local attraction around these men, stressing the fighter's abilities and personalities. It's a recipe that has made Canada a hot bed for boxing activity. We need to go back to the drawing board and sell more than the fights but the fighters themselves. We have to push for ESPN to cover Robert Guerrero's battle with raising a family while his wife lay in a Hospital bed. These are stories that sell and yet opportunities such as this are largely squandered.

Boxing's business model is broken and it's not hard to see why. The sport can continue down the path that it's been on or it can change the model and look to rebuild the sport toward its past heights. Good competitive fights that are both fan friendly and featuring fighters that the audience can get behind are just a start. The sport has a long way to go but it won't be the last time that it's risen to meet the count.
http://www.411mania.com/boxing/columns/168530