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I’m not a kind of “boxing is dying/useless/on its final legs” guys. Realistically, nothing goes to “kill” boxing, aside from, perhaps, a widespread human awakening of compassion that brings an enormous CANCEL to all blood-lusting fight sports activities. And, even then, any person, in some darkish nook someplace could be squaring as much as combat and any person else could be making an attempt to make a buck off the violence.
But when there was ever one factor that might put the game in a “shut down” recessive state, it’s Saudi Arabia’s elevated funding in boxing.
Neglect for now the realities behind who/what Saudi Arabia is. Neglect the sportswashing to cowl up for actual and true (and present) human rights abuses. We’re simply speaking plain economics right here.
The Saudis are filthy with cash and, with their latest Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou occasion, they’ve proven their willingness to function deeply within the purple for the sake of showcasing themselves in a optimistic mild on the world stage. Exempt from conventional enterprise constraints, they current an actual and tremendous current hazard to the pure stream of boxing enterprise. If PBC and DAZN might be tagged as “unhealthy for boxing” by overpaying expertise to get their toes within the boxing door, then the Saudis are “unhealthy for boxing” instances a thousand.
On the floor, although, many may not see issues that method. Within the brief time period, it seems just like the Saudis are merely getting shit finished.
The slated occasion for this coming December 23 is proof optimistic of what may be finished when infinite cash is thrown at a activity and turning a revenue isn’t actually a priority.
The proposed card for that day would see Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin and Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker as co-headliners.
Beneath these bouts could be 4 heavyweight clashes that includes Filip Hrgovic vs. Mark De Mori, Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Agit Kabayel, Frank Sanchez vs. Junior Fa and Jarrell Miller vs. Daniel Dubois.
Past the heavyweight motion, there’s additionally a title protection for WBA light-weight champ Dmitry Bivol and a title protection for IBF cruiserweight champ Jai Opetaia as effectively.
That will make for six heavyweight bouts that includes three former world champs, two undefeated prime contenders, two undefeated rising stars, and a handful of recognizable names on one card, plus the sunshine heavyweight and cruiserweight world title defenses…put collectively in a comparatively brief time frame, with nearly six weeks from public point out to combat night time.
Most of those aren’t nice matchups, some aren’t even good. This card is extra like a buy-in-bulk Costco deal. However, nonetheless, the logistics concerned in getting one thing like this collectively in such a brief time frame? Fucking insane.
However, once more, issues like this may be finished when the organizer doesn’t have to fret about particulars like turning a revenue or long-range enterprise plans.
The December 23 card will hemorrhage cash. It’ll hemorrhage cash in the identical method Fury-Ngannou did, though most likely to not the identical extent. The staging would be the greatest cash should purchase, celebrities can be flown in at nice expense to assist hype the occasion, and the fighters can be paid a number of instances their true market worth. As a result of cash isn’t any object. As a result of the aim of those occasions is to not placed on a financially profitable boxing present, however, moderately, to function an funding in washing the blood off Saudi Arabia’s streets and turning the nation into an interesting vacationer vacation spot.
Within the massive image, for the Saudis, a pair hundred million within the crapper right here and there means nothing in comparison with what they hope to achieve by turning their nation into Dubai-meets-Vegas, instances 100.
So, how is that this unhealthy for boxing? Followers are getting an enormous card on the twenty third and, supposedly, Fury-Usyk in Riyadh on February 17, plus a rumored Joshua-Wilder conflict afterward. All on the royal household’s dime.
Properly, it’s unhealthy in the identical method overpaying for content material is big-picture unhealthy. Though paying above market worth is nice for the fighters within the brief time period, the enterprise suffers over the lengthy haul as fighters keep inactive longer, ready on the large paydays that all the time appear simply inside their attain.
There’s additionally the matter of pulling fights away from areas the place there IS a marketplace for boxing (just like the US and UK), right into a spot the place curiosity is relatively restricted and the place precise followers can’t afford to see them in individual. This goes hand in hand with pulling FIGHTERS away from areas the place there’s a marketplace for boxing– one thing which may hit present boxing markets arduous.
The high-level expertise that might be collaborating in sport-growing legacy fights for followers would discover itself within the palms of the Saudis, whose matchmaking has been cynical and simply plain “meh” at instances. The tip end result might be fewer exhibits that matter in areas that matter with the celebrities that matter.
Proper now, we’re speaking about only a handful of fighters in a small handful of occasions, principally heavyweights and Euro boxers. However that’s of Saudi Arabia’s personal selecting. In the event that they needed to, they may scoop up tons extra expertise, American expertise, and switch a typically not sure/unstable American boxing market right into a semi-ghost city.
And the unhappy actuality is that, given boxing promoters’ historic propensity for taking simple cash on the expense of the game’s long-term well being, it’s probably that everybody and all the pieces might be shopped to the Saudis.
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