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12/10/2004 Archived Entry: "Reflections on Boxing’s Punchy Public Relations"
An Editorial: Reflections on Boxing’s Punchy Public Relations
By Juan C. Ayllon
For a long time, I have been perplexed with the way the sport of boxing seems to trip itself up in terms of public relations. Whether it’s marketing by its promoters, ill-advised programming decisions or poor choices by some of its participants, the sport seems to have a somewhat decidedly self-destructive bent to it, especially when it comes to generating good public relations.
Perhaps this should not surprise, as boxing is a destructive sport in which the half-life of many a boxer’s faculties doesn’t seem to bode well for many. The ranks of retired fighters are littered with those suffering from pugilistic dementia and other related afflictions. As Rocky Graziano once said, “Boxing’s is a tough racket.” Therefore, it should not surprise that its denizens might be peopled by war hardened, gritty people.
This has not been my experience, by and large, however. If anything, it seems that most boxers I have met are kind and humble people. As Chicago Tribune boxing columnist Michael Hirsley suggested to me about a year ago, boxers are generally a humble lot which might be attributed to the nature of their craft: at any moment, they could lose resoundingly to an opponent and, unlike team sports, there’s no one else really to defray the focus or blame on. With one punch, anyone could be knocked out. Worse yet, they could suffer severe damage to their health, like blind former boxer, Gerald McClellan. Or they could die, like Columbian prospect Carlos Meza did this last week. Just like that. That stark realization has a tendency to bring on humility.
Quite often, it’s others that are the shills or the jerks: dishonest handlers, managers that broach their fighters trust by matching them not in their fighters best interest, but in appeasing a promoter’s need for “action fights”, by sending in their boxer on the short end of a mismatch or by colluding with a promoter in carving up their fighter’s due portion of their purse. Sound harsh? Tell that to the family of Meza—the dead one—who at 8-0, 7 KO’s, took on a world-rated fighter by the name of Ricardo Cordoba with a record of 22-0, 15 KO’s. That’s reality.
There are, of course, the run of the mill, short sighted promoters merely bent on extracting every last penny they can from their fighters, using them for all they’re worth and then casting them aside or using them as cannon fodder for up and coming prospects. Or those who are quick to shout profane diatribes at reporters and ban them from their fight cards because they perceive that rival promoters are receiving too much coverage. Beautiful.
And, of course, there are those who are quick to serve up Pay Per View shows at $49.95 a pop rife with mediocre action, if not talent and which pale in comparison to fight cards run on a shoestring budget, like Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo series, for example. There are those who do an exemplary job; however, their efforts are often overshaddowed by the bad practice of others. And, we wonder why boxing is a shrinking commodity?
On the other side of the coin, there are those boxers who display boorish behavior. I’m not talking about the reprehensible acts of those that do drugs, rape, assault, commit murder and/or make regular visits to correctional facilities like you or I might make to the barbershop. That’s another topic entirely. What I am talking about are those fighters who display poor sportsmanship following the conclusion of a bout, fail to show up to press junkets they agreed to attend and granting interviews they were supposed to do.
Like it or not, boxing is ensconced in show business. In order to make money, you have to produce a product or service that is compelling enough for people to part with their hard earned money. If enough people do not buy, guess what? You will not make much money. Or, you are out of business, period.
Last time I checked, even though the economy seems to be creeping back up, these still aren’t fiscally “good times” by far for many. Retail sales for this time of the year down, prompting many merchants to slash prices prematurely. That’s not a sign of consumer confidence.
When it comes down to it, in order for this sport to work optimally in a fiscal sense, its constituents must all do things to improve its marketability.
For promoters, that would suggest for starters, draw a lesson from the 80’s: produce shows that are made available to regular TV viewers so that they can build up a following. Be creative. Spend money promoting and building up fighters. Take a page from history and look at promoters Tex Rickard, Mike Jacobs or even Barnum and Bailey. Can't do it? Hire good PR firms. Bottom line, take a good long-term view and promote well. Earn your promotional dollars. Then, give the fans something worth watching. I promise you: people will come back for more!
For those fighters who are rude, nasty or downright unsportsmanly: knock it off! Fighters who throw chairs or engage in otherwise unsporting behavior turn people off. And, I’m not necessarily talking about people tuning in to see you get your head knocked off; I’m talking about people not even bothering watching a fight you’re in or, even worse, giving up on boxing because they think all boxers are a bunch of recalcitrant apes.
Also, the next time you are tempted to not show up to a media op or interview you’ve agreed to, think again. Like it or not, these writers are doing you a favor: They are giving you free publicity, which can put money in your pockets. Blow them off enough and they will stop knocking on your door. Tell that to your honey when the money’s tight and you’re looking for a job—any job you can find.
Forget the aberrations like the George Foremans, the Larry Holmes’ and the Evander Holyfield’s; boxing is a young man’s sport. When your reflexes, your timing and your talents suddenly deplete, that’s it. See one Roy Jones, Jr. for example. And, if you’re thinking of being a sports announcer, guess what: that job’s in relatively short supply. Take advantage of your opportunities now, do yourself and your sport a favor: train hard, do your best, practice good sportsmanship and honor your commitments. Do that, and you have the best shot at making money for yourself and the sport we love.
