Why a "#Boxing Network" Makes Sense

NFL Mobile.  MLB.tv.  The WWE Network.  UFC FightPass.  All of these are great if you're a fan of a given type of sport.  But each of them falls short in certain areas.  Of these, WWE Network comes the closest in terms of the right idea.  It reminds me of the failed XFL.

What?  You don't remember the XFL?  That doesn't surprise me.  All you need to understand about the XFL is that it was a model for the so-called "80/20 Rule" - that is, 80% of it was bad, 20% of it was good and was poached by NFL.  So how does that apply to boxing, or any of the networks above?


Bear with me as I tell you a story.  Once, Vince McMahon and a few short-sighted investors got the brilliant idea of going up against the NFL and creating a new league: one that attempted to take the "entertainment" aspect that the WWF was then known for and combine it with the basic football concept of the NFL and AFL.  The result was the XFL: Extreme Football League.  In summary, you pretty much dumbed down the rule book in terms of what was legal and what was not in the game, you threw in backstage promos and vignettes introducing each player ("He Hate Me", aka Rod Smart), with a smattering of WWE announcers in Jim Ross and Jesse "The Body" Ventura calling plays, and you ended up with a Frankenstein-ish football concept that, while ill-fated, was oddly entertaining to watch at times.  You got to know the players beyond their gridlock actions, and even though some of it was campy (cheerleaders in hot tubs, for example), when they got to the field action, we saw something that the NFL couldn't touch.

Although they had tried Skycam technology, some would argue they didn't have the vision to use it the way Vince and his consultants did, because after XFL's seasonal use of it, we now see it used constantly in NFL games.  While that was the only real change we saw in the industry and XFL failed thereafter, most would remember that it brought a fresh look to the sport.  Fans just weren't ready for the way they handled it.

So I come to the WWE Network, which was unfortunately run by bean counters rather than actual wrestling fans.  After numerous pricing gimmicks designed to maximize subscribers, they still aren't much better off than when they started.  There are a couple of problems I see, but I won't diverge from the topic too far.  What matters is that WWE Network has the right idea, but wrong implementation, just like the XFL.  I've sampled the Network on two separate occasions, paying nothing both times, and never once saw that it was worth paying for.

But it got me thinking as I woke up this morning: What if there were a "Boxing Network"?  A place where a person could access the entire rich library of boxing events past and present in a single, searchable, readily accessible place?

Now, I know what you're thinking.  Such a thing could never happen, because too many chiefs are living in too many tents.  There's WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, Ring Magazine, ESPN, CBS, Golden Boy, Top Rank, Don King, etc etc etc., not to mention licensing rights for the past organizations that no longer exist, boxers who are deceased, and so on.  That's the one thing the WWE has the leg up on, is that they consolidated the wrestling past with the wrestling present.  They're missing elements from wrestling's present and future, which is okay.  Competition is never a bad thing.  But what if?

Again, I know what you're thinking.  Why not just go search for the stuff online?  Well, yes...I could and have.  The problem is efficiency.  Some videos simply don't exist out there because they've been taken down.  Some exist but in multiple split parts that are a nightmare to collate.  Some don't support mobile devices properly, if at all.  In some cases the picture quality is questionable.  In others the commentators are not the original commentators (Box Nation is notorious for this).  For British boxing, the entrances, taunts and aftermath are the real entertainment; the fight is just icing on the cake, but some uploaders feel they want to "cut out all that other stuff", which doesn't give the person the right experience.  SO no, having an original, unaltered library of content would be far superior AND worth paying for if you're a boxing fan.

Boxing hit a strong peak in the 80's and 90's, went somewhat slack in the early century, and is now trying to make somewhat of a comeback.  It's nowhere near what it was.  But it's difficult for people to really get a sense of things without a taste of the past and the present, and compare those fighters against the future to see where things go.  It's too easy to dismiss boxing and say that UFC and MMA fighting is the natural evolution; I disagree.  MMA appeals to a certain type of watcher, the kind that just wants to see two guys fight it out regardless of someone getting hurt.  Boxing appeals (or at least used to) to a watcher that wants to see the skills of two fighters in the ring.  Yes, there have been bloody fights - Gatti/Ward, for example - but there have also been straight up fights of skill and endurance, such as Ali/Foreman, Ali/Frazier, Hagler/Hearns, Hagler/Leonard, Leonard/Duran, and so on.

How awesome would it be to just log into a single portal and do a search for Roberto Duran, and get a chance to watch not only every fight he's had, but also his promos where he trashed Leonard?  Training videos where you can watch as he spars against other fighters?  To be able to watch the history of succession with given fighters - watch as Joe Frazier is literally destroyed by George Foreman, who then goes on to be beaten by Ali?  To see Hearns as the young, hungry, lanky guy who was beast in the ring and dropped opponents left and right, then later to be beaten by Sugar Ray Leonard in a classic?  To feel the energy as you go back through time to see all of these legendary fights that led us to today?

Take it a step further.  Add behind-the-scenes, news, and other videos to support the fights.  For example, just before Tyson/Douglas, Douglas gave an interview where he talked about all of the heartaches he was tussling with just before that fight; loss of his brother, love of his life dying, previous love of his life dying, mother died...include that video.  Show the emotion that poured out of him, so you can understand why he felt he had nothing to lose and that helped him go all out to expose Tyson.  (This is not intended to dismiss Tyson's issues with Givens at the time.  Show those videos too, especially the notorious one where she outed him as an abuser on national TV).  The videos on Naseem Hamed, Marco Antonio Barrera, Arturo Gatti, Micky Ward, etc. would be worth the price of admission alone.  Include footage of Roberto Duran before the "No Mas" incident to let fans analyze what really happened to the guy (might as well throw in the ESPN 30-For-30, even though it didn't really explain anything).

Imagine targeted segments on boxers that have cheated.  Segments that talk about Panama Lewis, Luis Resto, and Aaron Pryor.  Talk about Antonio Margarito and the hand wraps.  Talk about Andre Berto (plus many others) and illegal drug testing, and by all means, talk about the fighters who suffered as a result of these incidents and how it hurt the industry.  On the flip side, show history timelines for Hall of Fame fighters, managers and trainers and how they got there.  A segment on Emmanuel Steward would be worth the cost of admission easy.  A segment on the best fighters of each region: Mexican fighters, Ghanaian fighters, American fighters, British fighters, etc.  Contrast the difference in presentation and fight styles.  Do pseudo "Tale of the Tape" between fighters that never fought, like Roy Jones and Chris Eubank.

It's nice to dream about what could be as a boxing fan.  It's unfortunate that the boxing scene is so fragmented among so many different organizations and licensees that we'll almost certainly never see it come to fruition.