Monday, July 16, 2007
Can Boxing Be Saved?
This topic has been in the back of my mind for a while now and I really don't know if boxing can actually be saved from simply disappearing into the ether of time and space. The industry is run by a bunch of corrupt, old geezers who think they can still run the industry as their personal playpen of the damned. The reality of the matter tho is that boxing's popularity has eroded to the point that UFC and other MMA organizations are getting the publicity and ratings that boxing used to garner. Bert Sugar might as well start writing the obituary for the sweet science while he's still got life left in him.
HOWEVER..........
Boxing can be saved if the sport and the mechanics of the industry are changed for the better. It's probably too optimistic to think that can happen but it's not like boxing doesn't have any appeal. It's still a brutal sport and it does still have that poetic imagery when two very good fighters are going at it. It's just that it's so poorly run as an industry and has such a history of devouring it's biggest stars that the mainstream media is hesitant to latch on to it.
So how can the sport be fixed? Well in my mind there isn't one simple solution but rather 5 different steps that should be made and hopefully the public notices.
1. PRESENTATION: Boxing is very resistant to change but this is one area where change HAS to be made. You want to know why UFC and other MMA organizations are kicking boxing's ass all over town then just watch how they present their product. Boxing is stuck in the 1970s. There's little to no music, You have the old standard bikini clad woman carrying around a placard stating what round it is and there's WAY too much dead air between fights. Now if you look at UFC etc etc you have music, pyrotechnics, The participants come into the octagon with flashy outfits etc etc. There's no way one can be bored when they're at an event like that. Whereas in boxing there's just nothing there there. If you get what i'm saying.
Boxing needs to step into the 21st century. The sport doesn't need to go overboard but it would be nice to see the boxers profiled in an exciting manner. I mean, half the time I don't even know a thing about the guys in the ring much less care about them. There needs to be some excitement in the venue. I don't care if it's manufactured by having loud music between rounds but SOMETHING needs to be done. Heck, they don't even have to go too overboard with pyrotechnics. They can just emulate what WCW did with Nitro with the medium sized fireworks display in the building and that'd be good enough for me.
2. STREAMLINE THE BOXING STRUCTURE: This is one of the more obvious changes that need to be made. Boxing as it's currently constituted is more confusing then the LA Freeway System. There's nothing unique about winning a belt at all if there's 20 other organizations out there that are sanctioned and giving belts out. They need to just limit it to the WBF, WBC, and IBF as the recognized boxing sanctions of the world. If the unintended consequence is shutting the door on a lot of boxers currently out there then that would be one of those "happy accidents". If things are simplified to that extent then it would make following the sport 10x easier IMO. However by limiting it to those three bodies the odds of corruption immediately go up which leads to my 3rd point.
3. GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT OF SOME KIND: Yes I know some people don't like that idea but I truly think that if there was some kind of governmental boxing commission that it would stem the tide of corruption at least a little bit. Let's face it, the system that we have today with the various boxing commissions can be paid off or be affected by cronyism. What needs to be done is to have one single body that oversees boxing promoters, trainers and even some fighters as well. Promoters and trainers would need to be certified especially trainers as most of them today have no clue really on how to train their boxers. They just try to find a kid and hope that he has enough guts and strength to make it up the ladder. As for promoters, well we've seen numerous instances where promoters and their fighters will duck legit contenders and go after small fry. If there's a legit boxing commission in place it would have the power to rank boxers and push for legit title defenses and fights. Of course the venue and pay day will be determined by the promoters but the fights that should happen WOULD happen.
4. TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT OFF THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: It's already happening today so that's a good thing but there's still a large segment of the boxing community that are sitting back and praying for the next big thing to hit the heavyweight division. In my estimation it's time to stop wishing upon a star and build up the guys in the lower classes. We've seen that in the '90s but it seems that boxing as a whole doesn't know how to promote its stars. This goes back to the whole point about the sport being too confusing. There's so many different organizations governing the sport that it's hard to focus on a few guys and say "here's the future of our sport". Instead you have a lot of nobodies boxing for titles that mean squat and boxing is clinging on to the faded glories of guys like Oscar De La Hoya who don't have much left. It's time that boxing focus more on the younger guys and actually, you know, MARKET THEM! At least boxing has a very strong and fanatical base with the hispanic population. Maybe more fights should take place in those areas?
5. GO TO SMALLER VENUES/TRY TO GET MAINSTREAM COVERAGE: This is sort of 2 in 1 but it goes hand in hand. Boxing used to be hugely popular in the 70's and '80's for many reasons but one big reason is that it had mainstream coverage on the big 3 networks. Every Saturday afternoon or evening you would find a boxing card on NBC, CBS, or ABC. Ever since boxing got too "big" for those networks things have been going downhill. I truly think that boxing needs to try to get back to those days. Of course, it will never be as popular as it used to be but imagine if one of the boxing institutions inked a deal with oh, say FOX and try to put out a card fairly regularly on Fridays or Saturdays. I think it would do a lot of good for the sport to get some easy access like that. Now doing something like that would also require going to smaller venues. I think it'd be a great thing if boxing were to be held at smaller casinos that could hold 12-15k people, make it affordable for the regular paying customer and give the sport some of that cosy atmosphere that looks quaint but at the same time makes the action in the ring seem like it has some impact with those in attendance. Another idea would be to go to untapped markets or areas where big time boxing hasn't been done in years. I know that goes a bit against my smaller venue idea I truly think boxing needs to internationalize itself again. Have fights in South America, Africa, Eastern Europe etc etc. Let's bring some life and creativity into the sport that for better or for worse Don King did in the '70s with Ali.
These are just some ideas. I don't know if they'd all work or even be feasible but it's a shame to see an exciting sport like boxing go down the crapper like this. Those in power in the boxing industry are being like ostriches and sticking their heads in the sand while UFC is taking away the youth market which boxing so dearly needs if it wants to be a legit sport in 30 years. The way things are going boxing may very well disappear into a tiny niche sport participated in bars and smelly old gyms once again. This is a critical juncture for the sport and those involved NEED to fight to keep it relevant.
HOWEVER..........
Boxing can be saved if the sport and the mechanics of the industry are changed for the better. It's probably too optimistic to think that can happen but it's not like boxing doesn't have any appeal. It's still a brutal sport and it does still have that poetic imagery when two very good fighters are going at it. It's just that it's so poorly run as an industry and has such a history of devouring it's biggest stars that the mainstream media is hesitant to latch on to it.
So how can the sport be fixed? Well in my mind there isn't one simple solution but rather 5 different steps that should be made and hopefully the public notices.
1. PRESENTATION: Boxing is very resistant to change but this is one area where change HAS to be made. You want to know why UFC and other MMA organizations are kicking boxing's ass all over town then just watch how they present their product. Boxing is stuck in the 1970s. There's little to no music, You have the old standard bikini clad woman carrying around a placard stating what round it is and there's WAY too much dead air between fights. Now if you look at UFC etc etc you have music, pyrotechnics, The participants come into the octagon with flashy outfits etc etc. There's no way one can be bored when they're at an event like that. Whereas in boxing there's just nothing there there. If you get what i'm saying.
Boxing needs to step into the 21st century. The sport doesn't need to go overboard but it would be nice to see the boxers profiled in an exciting manner. I mean, half the time I don't even know a thing about the guys in the ring much less care about them. There needs to be some excitement in the venue. I don't care if it's manufactured by having loud music between rounds but SOMETHING needs to be done. Heck, they don't even have to go too overboard with pyrotechnics. They can just emulate what WCW did with Nitro with the medium sized fireworks display in the building and that'd be good enough for me.
2. STREAMLINE THE BOXING STRUCTURE: This is one of the more obvious changes that need to be made. Boxing as it's currently constituted is more confusing then the LA Freeway System. There's nothing unique about winning a belt at all if there's 20 other organizations out there that are sanctioned and giving belts out. They need to just limit it to the WBF, WBC, and IBF as the recognized boxing sanctions of the world. If the unintended consequence is shutting the door on a lot of boxers currently out there then that would be one of those "happy accidents". If things are simplified to that extent then it would make following the sport 10x easier IMO. However by limiting it to those three bodies the odds of corruption immediately go up which leads to my 3rd point.
3. GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT OF SOME KIND: Yes I know some people don't like that idea but I truly think that if there was some kind of governmental boxing commission that it would stem the tide of corruption at least a little bit. Let's face it, the system that we have today with the various boxing commissions can be paid off or be affected by cronyism. What needs to be done is to have one single body that oversees boxing promoters, trainers and even some fighters as well. Promoters and trainers would need to be certified especially trainers as most of them today have no clue really on how to train their boxers. They just try to find a kid and hope that he has enough guts and strength to make it up the ladder. As for promoters, well we've seen numerous instances where promoters and their fighters will duck legit contenders and go after small fry. If there's a legit boxing commission in place it would have the power to rank boxers and push for legit title defenses and fights. Of course the venue and pay day will be determined by the promoters but the fights that should happen WOULD happen.
4. TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT OFF THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION: It's already happening today so that's a good thing but there's still a large segment of the boxing community that are sitting back and praying for the next big thing to hit the heavyweight division. In my estimation it's time to stop wishing upon a star and build up the guys in the lower classes. We've seen that in the '90s but it seems that boxing as a whole doesn't know how to promote its stars. This goes back to the whole point about the sport being too confusing. There's so many different organizations governing the sport that it's hard to focus on a few guys and say "here's the future of our sport". Instead you have a lot of nobodies boxing for titles that mean squat and boxing is clinging on to the faded glories of guys like Oscar De La Hoya who don't have much left. It's time that boxing focus more on the younger guys and actually, you know, MARKET THEM! At least boxing has a very strong and fanatical base with the hispanic population. Maybe more fights should take place in those areas?
5. GO TO SMALLER VENUES/TRY TO GET MAINSTREAM COVERAGE: This is sort of 2 in 1 but it goes hand in hand. Boxing used to be hugely popular in the 70's and '80's for many reasons but one big reason is that it had mainstream coverage on the big 3 networks. Every Saturday afternoon or evening you would find a boxing card on NBC, CBS, or ABC. Ever since boxing got too "big" for those networks things have been going downhill. I truly think that boxing needs to try to get back to those days. Of course, it will never be as popular as it used to be but imagine if one of the boxing institutions inked a deal with oh, say FOX and try to put out a card fairly regularly on Fridays or Saturdays. I think it would do a lot of good for the sport to get some easy access like that. Now doing something like that would also require going to smaller venues. I think it'd be a great thing if boxing were to be held at smaller casinos that could hold 12-15k people, make it affordable for the regular paying customer and give the sport some of that cosy atmosphere that looks quaint but at the same time makes the action in the ring seem like it has some impact with those in attendance. Another idea would be to go to untapped markets or areas where big time boxing hasn't been done in years. I know that goes a bit against my smaller venue idea I truly think boxing needs to internationalize itself again. Have fights in South America, Africa, Eastern Europe etc etc. Let's bring some life and creativity into the sport that for better or for worse Don King did in the '70s with Ali.
These are just some ideas. I don't know if they'd all work or even be feasible but it's a shame to see an exciting sport like boxing go down the crapper like this. Those in power in the boxing industry are being like ostriches and sticking their heads in the sand while UFC is taking away the youth market which boxing so dearly needs if it wants to be a legit sport in 30 years. The way things are going boxing may very well disappear into a tiny niche sport participated in bars and smelly old gyms once again. This is a critical juncture for the sport and those involved NEED to fight to keep it relevant.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Things I find online #1 "Trouble Man" from film to LP
Here's a video of the opening credits to the blaxploitation film TROUBLE MAN. Now you may think what's so great about this? Well as you may or may not know Marvin Gaye did the soundtrack for said movie. I had heard that the actual film score is vastly different from the studio album because Marvin didn't like how it came out. I always sorta discounted that story but lo and behold the opening credits with the title song "Trouble Man" seems to confirm it.
Here's the studio cut of the song
As you can plainly see the original take had a rougher quality. I particularly like that you hear Marvin scatsinging to himself in the movie version. The studio cut however, is far jazzier and has more gravitas to it. Marvin's singing is also slightly better especially with the proto rapping he does.
All in all there's aspects to both versions of the song that I love. I love the moody jazz of the studio cut but I also really dig the rougher and at times catchier version in the movie. However for commercial success Marvin was right to redo the song.
Still it's pretty interesting stuff.
Here's the studio cut of the song
As you can plainly see the original take had a rougher quality. I particularly like that you hear Marvin scatsinging to himself in the movie version. The studio cut however, is far jazzier and has more gravitas to it. Marvin's singing is also slightly better especially with the proto rapping he does.
All in all there's aspects to both versions of the song that I love. I love the moody jazz of the studio cut but I also really dig the rougher and at times catchier version in the movie. However for commercial success Marvin was right to redo the song.
Still it's pretty interesting stuff.
