FEARS FOR FUTURE OF BOXING
Cancelled shows leave the grassroots of sport in crisis
BRITISH boxing chiefs fear for the future of the sport on these shores if the coronavirus pandemic forces a lengthy shutdown of shows.
This week the British Boxing Board of Control pulled all fights until the end of April, with Anthony Joshua’s June 20 clash with Kubrat Pulev also under threat of postponement.
Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom have already lost six shows — with each costing around £50,000, before taking lost profits into consideration.
Talks have taken place between the board and promoters about the implications of any decision to push the lockdown into May.
Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith told Sportsmail he ‘highly doubts’ we will see many events before June, with a decision on AJ v Pulev expected next week.
Should the disruption continue into the summer and beyond, Robert Smith, the board’s general secretary, is concerned about the effect on Britain’s small-hall circuit, where many top fighters, including Tyson Fury and Josh Warrington, rose through the ranks.
Asked whether a shutdown of three to six months would pose a serious threat to the sport’s survival, Robert Smith said: ‘Yes, I think so, because the vast majority of promoters in this country are not your Eddie Hearns or Frank Warrens.
‘There is no insurance in this, so major shows have been cancelled and every single promoter in the country is being affected. But the smaller promoters who run on a smaller budget will be affected also and it’s about whether they have the means to continue promoting when the suspension has been lifted.’
He added: ‘We did 280-something shows last year. The last weekend we were operating, we had eight or nine tournaments on. So it’s big. It’s very important to have grassroots. A lot of the boxers don’t make it to Wembley Stadium or the O2 Arena.’
This would have knock-on effects for the likes of Matchroom, who use the circuit to scour for talent and give fighters time in the ring.
‘It is a risk for a lot of people who don’t have the funding to carry on or to wait this period out,’ admitted Frank Smith.
‘That is a concern for us. We’ll work closely with the Boxing Board of Control to ensure we help as much as we can.’
No show means no payday for most boxers and Hearn fears ‘we’ll see a lot of fighters have to give up the sport at a lower level because there’s no income’.
The board are set to look into whether they could qualify for any of the £330billion of Government support announced recently, while one broadcaster said they would investigate whether a boxing training camp counts as a small business.
‘This is unprecedented,’ said Robert Smith. ‘To be honest with you, we just don’t know the answer at the moment and we’re putting things in place that we hope are going to assist.’
One option to ease the logjam created by cancelled shows would be to hold fights behind closed doors.
Although Hearn has ruled out hosting the likes of Joshua v Pulev without fans, Matchroom have explored the possibility of putting on fights in studios. But Robert Smith said: ‘It was deemed it would be irresponsible of us to put more pressure on the NHS. If a boxer is injured, we have to go to hospitals.
‘The doctors we use primarily work for health authorities and they’re obviously being used elsewhere.’
Boxing’s ad-hoc scheduling is proving both a blessing and a curse during this crisis.
The lack of structured competition allows promoters to freely reschedule shows, but for many fighters and their teams, the next few months could be financially perilous.
‘We’re trying to assist in any way we possibly can,’ insisted Robert Smith. ‘However, boxers and trainers are self-employed ultimately. We don’t have the funds like the Football Association and football teams.’
The pinch is being felt across the boxing world. Fighters who had hoped to compete at the Olympics have seen their dreams put on hold, while shows around Europe and in the US have fallen foul of the pandemic.
Billy Joe Saunders’ super fight against Canelo Alvarez in May could be pushed back 12 months and the collateral damage even extends to the fight against drug cheats.
UK Anti-Doping announced recently a ‘significant reduction’ to their testing programme amid the ongoing health crisis.
Given boxing’s murky history with performance-enhancing drugs, one fighter described this decision as a ‘big concern’ that has ‘opened the window for fighters to start cheating’.