THE DANGER OF A BRIEF BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOXER AND PROMOTER
THE NEWS THAT TEAM KHAN AND FRANK WARREN HAVE PARTED IS NOT WELCOME NEWS. THE REASON IT DOES NOT QUALIFY AS GOOD NEWS IS BECAUSE THERE IS NOW A DARK THREAT THAT COULD AFFECT FUTURE UK TALENTED YOUNG BOXERS WHO WILL EACH REQUIRE SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT BY THE BETTER BOXING PROMOTERS AND MANAGERS TO DEVELOP THEIR BOXING TALENT
It has to be acknowledged that what is a sport for fans and a initial relatively short career for professional boxers, it is a high cost business for promoters and each time a major boxing event is promoted there is the risk of losing substantial financial capital,
Therefore it would not make business sense to invest money in developing and making star boxers, let alone World champions, if when the gravy train arrives the promoter that has invested money, expertise and time is left stranded and the boxer accompanied by a newly arrived promoter on the scene, boards the gravy train and disappears into the sunset with the arm of the promoter around his shoulder.
Waving goodbye to an investment that is aborted early due to serenading by a rival business person is not attractive to any one, especially when the loser is a boxing promoter being ambushed by another boxing promoter.
In English law courts Judges frown on personal contracts that extend beyond a three year period.
However. it needd to be recognused that if it takes two years to develop a precocious talent into a World champion, the promoter and manager have but one year to recoup the investment and make a worthwhile profit.
It also means upon the expiry of the three years contractual obligations the boxers may go with any other promoter of his choice
.This anomaly must be overcome otherwise there lurks a danger that promoters might spend one year in developing talent and two years making sell-out venue contests against opponents that the young talent should, in his better interest, be opposing in a year’s time.
This could mean the development period of a talented young boxer would be cut by half.
It is true a boxer has to complete the arduous task of training, which includes early rising on cold mornings to do road work, rigorously train in the gym and to add to his/her fitness have a strict diet and social regime that does not conflict withthe demands of boxing, and then give and receive punches in a boxing ring.
This is a stark comparison to the perceived lifestyle of promoters or manager portrayed in Hollywood films and cheap; novelswhere promoters and managers smoke fat Havana cigars and are usual overweight, and obese.
In fiction they make the odd ‘phone call and a fight is made and their job is done except for counting sacks full of money allegedly made at the expense of the boxer.
It is fantasy. The true story is promoters often spend half the time before dawn on transatlantic calls; restful sleep at night is regularly disturbed to take ‘phone calls due to World time differences, meal times are when there is time to eat.
I have shared some time. more with some and less with others, with the top promoters and none is renowned for the size of the cigars they smoke and, as far as I am aware, Don King, Bob Arum, Gary Shaw, Oscar De La Hoya. Richard Schaeffer, Frank Warren, Frank Malone. Mick Hennessy don’t even smoke pipes or cigarettes. Although Gary Shaw and Mick Hennessy could do with losing a few pounds, oops, weight that is.
Boxers are sometimes not the easiest of people to please; family members of boxers often when success comes find reason to complain and cause posterior pain; it is abusiness where stress comes in force and is a disease that comes with promoting boxing.
Like the top boxers, top promoters make a lot of money when asuccessful but it is not all honey and cream. On more than just a few occasions money is only rhymed with honey and the two words are not always entwined by a + sign, and there are times when only sour cream is served when the accounts relating to a boxing promotion are rendered.
There isn’t a leading promoter who does not have depressing tales related to promotions of being hit with the depressing news on the day before a big fight night by the unwelcome news that one half of the top of the bill contest has injured himself or, for some other reason, one half is incapacitated and cannot fight.
This often means another sleepless night telephoning around the World for a substitute and usually having to pay a blackmail purse.
These are only the obvious problems. There are often worries about tickets not selling; late deliveries by printers, staff difficulties, plus a host of regular and irregular problems.
Then there is the essential media interviews and appearances at unsocial hours. When Frank Warren and I were working together after a promotion, which following a media conference, meetings would regularly carry on until 4 a.m, and then he would be be at a TV studio at 6.30 a.m. for a breakfats TV interview publicizing boxers and his next promotion.
Until you have been involved in fight promotions at the highest level it not possible to fully appreciate the worry and concerns that come with the territory.
Nevertheless, there are many good bonuses for a successful boxing promoter to enjoy and, to a lesser extent the manager of a successful boxer. The fact a person chooses to be a promoter or manager explains why sympathy is not required when things go awry.
A halo would not be appropriate if it were placed above the head of any promoter I know but while they can be hardnosed, in the UK the overwhelming majority is far better than past UK boxing promoters.
When Amir Khan turned professional following his heroic performance at the 2008 Athens Olympic Games, Boxing Action refused to join the motley who after several pro' contests were writing him off as a future World champion and passed ill conceived judgments based purely on speculation related to his perceived weaknesses.
However, Boxing Action was not without certain concerns. We commented that he was not being coached in defensive tactics and after a few months of power training we voiced the view he had been given sufficient of this kind of trainingand desperately needed tutoring on defence tactics.
We further criticized the foolish claims by Team Khan that he would become the youngest World champion but nothing persuaded us that he was not in with a great chance of becoming a future World champion and we made this clear in our support for him.
Today, he is WBA World champion. The person that has to take a large slice of the credit for Amir becoming a World champion has to be promoter Frank Warren. TO BE CONTINUED.
