Boxing Outsider

The role of a boxing promoter

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The role of a boxing promoter is a multi-faceted one. The boxing promoter is responsible for getting opposing boxers together to fight as well as putting together an entire evening of events. They are responsible for putting together what is referred to as a ‘bill’, which typically consists of multiple fights, and sometimes other entertainment for an evening.

Promoters are also responsible for the actual promotion of the boxing match. They are the ‘hype’ men who push the event to media outlets such as television and radio organize promotional events to push the boxing match into the public eye. The promoter is responsible for securing everything involved financially for a boxing event that includes the boxer’s purse and any entertainment for the event and all promotional costs. This is typically done with the promoter’s own money, or through sponsorship money and loans. The boxing promoter is also responsible for negotiating with the managers of the boxers and event staff for compensation. They are also responsible for acquiring all licenses associated with alcohol sales and the fight itself.

The boxing promoter takes a great financial risk and has no responsibility to the boxers involved in the fights outside of fulfilling their contract. Due to the great amount of risks they take and financial responsibility, promoters often get the lion’s share of earnings.

Mickey Rourke: boxer and actor

admin — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

When some people hear that Mickey Rourke spent time as a professional boxer, they may think of that it was some type of “actor” vanity project. You know, the kind that actor’s do just because they can. The thing is, though, before he started acting in movies, Rourke, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2009 for his role in “The Wrestler”, Rourke was actually an up and coming boxer in Miami who won a majority of his fights between 1964-1974. After becoming one of the hottest actor’s in Hollywood in films like 9 1/2 Weeks and Wild Orchid, Rourke quit acting in 1991 and went back to boxing professionally.

Between May 1991 and September 1994, Rourke fought eight fights, winning six and drawing in the other two. He stated that he would have gone on longer with his fighting career, though at 42 years old he was too old to keep up with the rigors of the ring. Though a respected actor by many of the new breed in Hollywood, Rourke spent much of the late 1990′s and early 2000′s in bit parts and straight to DVD films. It wasn’t until 2008 with his role in “The Wrestler” that he became a star again.

The most historic boxing matches of all time

admin — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Jack Johnson, a black fighter who was reigning heavyweight champion, defeated white fighter James L. Jeffries, a former champion, in Reno, Nevada on July 4th, 1910. The result set off riots nationwide, and launched Johnson’s wildly successful, yet controversial career.

Known ever-after as “The Battle of the Long Count”, 1927′s rematch between heavyweights Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney is credited with putting boxing on the “front pages” of the nation’s sporting consciousness. The controversy over the referee’s delay in beginning the “count” continues to this day.

Cassius Clay, soon to adopt the name Muhammad Ali, shocked the boxing world in 1964 when he defeated the overwhelming 7-1 favorite, Sonny Liston, to capture the heavyweight boxing title. Ali went on to become perhaps the greatest fighter of all time and a cultural icon.

In a bout that became legendary for it’s savagery and non-stop action, Marvin Hagler defeated Thomas Hearns in 1985 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas to retain his middleweight championship. Lasting just eight minutes, both fighters were bloodied and exhausted at the end.

Considered unbeatable, heavyweight champion Mike Tyson instead was sent to the canvas in the ninth-round by little-known Buster Douglas in Tokyo on Feb. 10th, 1990. Facing 42-1 odds, Douglas’ victory is widely considered one of boxing’s all-time upsets.

Your television boxing options

www.boxingoutsider.com — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re a boxing fan, then Showtime and HBO are probably already part of your Direct tv package. If not, what are you waiting for? HBO has been airing HBO World Championship Boxing since January 1973, while Showtime premiered Showtime Championship Boxing in 1986. Both have been the home for some of the most important fights in boxing history.For HBO, that includes: the famous “Rumble in the Jungle,” where Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire; the “Thrilla in Manila,” the 1975 third and final match between Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World; and 2007′s “The World Awaits,” where Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Oscar De La Hoya by split decision. Current commentators include Harold Lederman, Jim Lampley, and Larry Merchant.Showtime hasn’t suffered for want of coverage, however. “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, undisputed world middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987, faced off against John “The Beast” Mugabi on the show’s debut. Other memorable fights include the Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo matchup in 2005 and the Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez trilogy in 2007. Gus Johnson has been the blow-by-blow caller for the show since 2009, when he replaced Steve Albertthe voice of the show for over 17 years.

Klitschko-Briggs match this Saturday

www.boxingoutsider.com — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:39:01 +0000

American boxer Shannon Briggs is doing his best to keep the art of trash talking alive, but is he going over the top? Recently, Briggs referred to his Saturday opponent, Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko, as a kung-fu octopus, and claimed that Klitschko’s only options were to withdraw or get knocked out.The boxers are similar in age, but Klitschko at 39 is a year older. Will this work in his favor, or against? Turning to their respective records isn’t much help, as the two are pretty evenly matched there as well. Klitschko has been the victor in 38 out of 40 fights (95), while Briggs has 45 knock-outs out of 51 (88). Overall, it looks like we can expect a passionate match tomorrow when they face off in Hamburg. The match will be refereed by British ref Ian John-Lewis, marking only the fifth time in history that a UK referee has managed a heavyweight title match. Audience support may be divided, but we, along with John-Lewis, expect the majority to cheer Klitschko. He was a big hit when he fought there 11 years ago, and elsewhere in Germany two months ago. Similarly, his brother Wladimir drew in 10 million viewers earlier in the year when he KO’d Samuel Peter.

Toney vs. Couture and boxing vs. MMA

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:00:30 +0000

James Toney claims to have a great deal of respect for mixed martial arts, but he sure isn’t showing any to upcoming opponent Randy Couture. The match is scheduled for “UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II” at Boston’s TD Garden on August 28. It will either be a grand vindication or the biggest comeuppance in recent memory for Toney, who has promised to hit Couture “so hard his grandparents will feel it.”The odds calculators don’t seem to have the same confidence, judging Toney a 3.5-to-1 underdog. It’s his first time in the MMA ring, and despite four months of grappling training, it’s not likely that Toney will be able to defeat the three-time heavyweight and two-time light-heavyweight champion. Couture’s style involves not only boxing, but also Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, among others.Nevertheless, Toney believes that his boxing skills will translate to the ground if he’s forced onto his back. The boxer’s recent career has been a whirlwind of positive steroid tests and controversial wins, but he has still continued to rack up victories. He’s also the current IBA Heavyweight World Champion.Part of the reason fans have discredited Toney’s claims is his seeming dismissal of almost all MMA fighters. In a live chat at MMAFighting.com, Toney said that MMA fighters don’t like getting hit and can’t stand and take punches. He also said they kick “likelittle girls.” Toney did give props to fighters Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, and Georges St. Pierra as possibly being able to make the transition into boxing, but still denies that any MMA fighter could punch as hard as him.Michael David Smith, who orchestrated the chat, got fed up with Toney’s attitude, and many fans of both boxing and MMA have as well. A victory for Toney on the 28^th won’t erase that, but a loss will make sure he never lives it down.

German boxing channel institutes drug testing

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:45:15 +0000

The boxing community’s interest in a Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquaio match-up has come and gone as the proposed match devolved into a media mess. First Mayweather asked Pacquaio to agree to Olympic-style drug testing for them both before the fight, which Pacquaio refused. In July, Mayweather let a deadline for accepting the fight pass without comment, though some suggested his uncle and trainer’s upcoming trial could be to blame.However, the idea of testing all fighters before fights could help shake the stigma that has fallen on the sport. That was the idea behind the German public television channel ARD’s January contract renewal with Sauerland Boxing. The channel stated that all boxers must undergo testing before the fight is broadcast. They cite their reason as the large number of young viewers that watch the network, as well as the role they play in the community. While ARD’s example is a good one, it seems unlikely that American channels will follow suit.The fact that ARD is a public television network is one reason they can demand this condition, whereas channels like HBO and Showtime can’tor more literally, won’t. In America, boxing promoters like Top Rank don’t have exclusive deals with networks, so if one channel required drug testing, the promoters would simply go to one that didn’t include that stipulation. The fact that these channels are privately-owned also means that they don’t have any real devotion to a community. Finally, boxing standards are by no means regulated across the country, since each state has a separate commission.For boxing fans who are concerned about the prevalence of steroid accusations in their sport, it’s going to take a public effort to show promoters that people care about keeping boxing clean. Until then, things will only continue as they have been going.

Boxing gloves and the men who wear them

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:31:25 +0000

If you’re looking to get into a sport that doesn’t have a lot of equipment, boxing is one of your best options. Professional boxers don’t use anything other than headgear, a pair of gloves and a mouthpiece. Well-known brands like Everlast offer glove styles starting from 19.88. But what is the history of this piece of equipment, and just how well does it work?Hand-gear in fighting competitions was first used in Greek and Roman times, most notably in the form of the caestus. This glove originally consisted of simply leather thongs tied over the hand, but fighters soon added spikes and studs to further “enhance” the competition. As you can see, the caestus was a far cry from the modern padded boxing glove, which is designed to protect rather than to maim.The caestus went out of style when hand-to-hand fighting was banned by Emperor Arcadius in 393 A.D. It took more than a thousand years for the sport to come back to popularity, but come back it did in the 17^th century, when British fighters revitalized a bare-knuckles version of the sport. Gloves (and rules) were nonexistent until the Marquess of Queensberry rules, published in 1865. Bare-knuckles boxing still exists in an underground variety, such as can be seen in the Brad Pitt film Snatch.The modern boxing glove is generally acknowledged as being invented by Jack Broughton. Broughton was a bare-knuckles fighter in the 18^th century who developed the “mufflers” to protect his students in sparring. Broughton also helped devise the first set of rules for the sport after accidentally killing a competitor in the ring.Despite reducing the striking force by about 70, modern gloves also contribute to more brain damage, as fighters can last longer and also take more hits to the head when both competitors are wearing gloves. This results in a classic trade-off: safety vs. entertainment. For many boxers, however, the risk is worth it.

Best boxing movies for newbies

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:23:58 +0000

If you’re anything like me, when you want to learn more about a particular subject, you go and rent some movies. Luckily for you, boxing has spawned some of the most hard-hitting, exciting, and emotional films in the history of sports cinema (and some might say in the history of cinema itself). Without further ado, here are the films you have to check out.

Rocky Series: While each installment has its supporters, if you can only check out one, make sure you get the original. It epitomizes the boxing spirit in its classic underdog hero, who also manages to woo the girl of his dreams while learning the art of the sweet science.
Raging Bull: This is the other film that leaps to mind whenever you put the words “boxing” and “movie” together. Since it’s directed by Scorsese, though, you should also know that “amazing” goes along with it. Based on the true story of Jake LaMotta, the film shows what happens when a boxer can’t “shut it off” when he steps out of the ring. It’s a dark look at why some boxers do what they do.
Fat City: Based on the only novel by Leonard Gardner, this film is another look at boxers inside and outside the ring. Two men–one an old pro, the other just a young buckturn to boxing as a ray of hope in their difficult lives. While the film has a depressing tone, it can be quite inspirational in parts.
Million Dollar Baby: The newest of the boxing greats, this film is also notable for focusing on a woman in boxinga rare occurrence for a mainstream film. Clint Eastwood is an aging trainer who takes in Hilary Swank’s character, a vulnerable housewife who has the potential to be a great fighter.
When We Were Kings: The Muhammad AliGeorge Foreman fight in 1974 is considered one of the greatest fights in history. This documentary tells the story of the legendary bout, going into the motivations and psychology of both men.

A boxing match to get worked up about

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:13:34 +0000

Boxing fanatics have grown tired of the endless unfounded rumors surrounding Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather’s fabled match-up. Meanwhile, newbies looking to get interested in the sport haven’t had much to latch onto this summer. But both groups got a reckoning with the upcoming Marquez-Diaz bout on Saturday, July 31. The competitorsJuan “Baby Bull” Diaz and Juan “Dinamita” Marquezalready had one legendary battle under their belts. Marquez took the victory in the ninth round then, but both fighters were recognized by Ring magazine for the fight of the year.Marquez’s victory last time was no indication of a sure thing this time, although he did end up taking the victory. He has enjoyed a steady career, including earning a world title along with his brother Rafael. When he fought Manny Pacquiao in 2004, he managed a draw after a knock-down in the first roundhowever, many fans decried the judges’ decision, feeling that Marquez actually overpowered Manny in the following rounds.Still, Diaz has been no slouch since his 2000 disqualification from the Mexican Olympic team for being too young. Turning professional at 16, Diaz has a powerful underdog mentality (along with an interest in pursuing law school after his boxing career). He feels that boxing has taught him how much can be accomplished through hard work and discipline, a combination of traits that he intends to bring into the “real world”.Before the fight, Diaz said he thinks it’s possible to win if he manages to walk the line between aggression and intellect and therefore catch Marquezwho he says “is such a smart fighter”off guard. The memory of his earlier loss was still there, but Marquez didn’t sound bitter when he spoke of it. Instead, it only whet his appetite for a reckoning, and with Marquez’s second victory, the desire will be even stronger.