Quote:
Originally Posted by Syd Thrift
The consumers would continue to pay whatever they were comfortable with paying. I'm not sure how having a regulatory council would make our entire system of capitalism go belly-up. Boxers would, you are correct, have to pay in, and in return would get the following, I would imagine:
- Something like a pension or at least a 401(k) option
- Health care (maybe not a problem for Floyd Mayweather but definitely a must-have for a tomato can)
- A central way to license agents and promoters and thus keep the really awful con artists out
- The ability to collectively bargain with media outlets and other sources of revenue. None of the free or basic cable stations are going to enter into an agreement with any one boxer, but if they can be guaranteed X number of fights to occur on X dates, that's another matter
- The ability, one would hope at least, to regulate some of the non-ring activities fighters engage in between fights, like illegal doping (the fact that there hasn't been a scandal in boxing has more to do with the fact that there is no way to randomly test a boxer who isn't actually on a fight card than any idea that no boxer takes 'roids, I'm sure) or placing a limitation on how many hours a week a guy can spar.
All of these things may hurt the individual boxer a little but all would be beneficial for the sport as a whole. Boxing is hurt when a story comes out about a former champ or contender who is now barely able to make ends meet. That lowers the prestige of the sport and no amount of benefit fighting can bring that back. An individual boxer cannot by definition collectively bargain. And even though an individual is going to use whatever advantage he can get in order to get a big payday, that doesn't mean that the general public is not turned off by the after-effects of this (namely, the way boxers tend to be hollow shells of the people they were when they were in the ring - Ali and Jake LaMotta for two good examples).
The downside, of course, is the possible corruption. Since I don't think it's materially possible to be more corrupt than boxing is right now, I can't see how a regulating body would make things worse.
Basically, it's a tragedy of the commons situation. Individuals acting in their own unenlightened self-interest do the sport far more harm than a single organization acting partially in its constituency's best interests and partially in the interests of its own pocketbooks.
ETA: I think that even playing linebacker is a different activity altogether compared with playing the offensive line. IMO a big part of why so many boxers and offensive linemen have such awesome personalities (not being sarcastic here; I really mean it when I say that there are more flat-out intelligent boxers on a per capita basis than there are intelligent professionals of any other sport) is that for them the sport is a job, not a lifestyle.
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Boxers can already do (and or have access) to virtually everything (or much) of what you listed above - Collective bargaining helps insulate the loser / the slacker....at the costs of the guys busting their as$.
Fighters already can purchase their own insurance - They can group together policies within Gyms -
Such an organization would do virtually nothing with regard to doping and what not - Look at the scandals assoicated with the Olympics, MLB, NFL, etc, etc. (they are all heavliy centeralized).
Every item you listed....As a mandate... Is nothing but costs. It will only make the TCs of boxing have less (out of their pocket) and dependent more on others.....
Reality is most fighters ARE NOT dopping......Just as most players in other sports are not. And for every fighter you list (who made their OWN bad choices and are not wealthy later in life) I can give you a hundreds of other examples of atheletes from different sports in the exact same postion.
People are responsible for their own decisions / choices. It is NOT societies responsibliy to make sure some guy is rich for his entire life (regardless of his poor choices) nor is it the responsiblity of other fighters.....
And the notion that boxing is "so corrupt" is just hogwash. It isn't. Guys everday come from nothing to work themselves up to contenders through their own sweat-equity....... Look at M. Castillo and I. Vasquez......Both penniless when they came to this great country and several years down the road...they are/were world champions.....
Syd - You and I are going to have to agree to disagree on this one - I see it completley different -