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Reactions: Bail to the King CNN/SI users want boxing cleaned up, Don King outPosted: Thursday November 18, 1999 06:42 PM
CNNSI.com asked users if they thought that boxing needed greater regulation and the response was clear: boxing needs to clean up its act. A sampling of your responses follows:
Boxing needs to do a lot of things; getting rid of Don King is one of them. But since that will never happen, boxing needs to adjust how boxers are paid for each fight. Holyfield and Lewis were paid before either threw a punch. Boxing needs to take a look at rewarding the winner of the bout with the biggest purse. This would definitely make it more fun for the fans because something other than the boxer's so called "pride" is on the line... his meal ticket. All other single competition sports are set up this way. Should Tiger Woods get his money before he plays because he is an exciting player who brings in the crowds? No, he gets paid based on his performance. Tennis, bowling and all other non-salary-based sports are done this way, Boxing should be too. A boxer would be more inclined to take risks if not only his belt was on the line, but an additional $15 million as well.
How do you clean up boxing? Getting rid of Don King is a good place to start.
If I were in charge, I'd cut the sanctioning bodies down to two. The WBA & WBC. I would do away with all pay-per-view fights. All major fights would be bid on per fight, by each network (HBO, Showtime, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox). All aspects of a signed contract would be made public the day after all signatures were obtained. I'd use more public opinion in determining which top fights fight who. Maybe even to the point were I'd let the public determine the top five
spots in several weight divisions.
First of all, Mike Tyson, gone. Second of all, well basically that's it; that would clean up boxing a lot, that and Mills Lane Ref every match. Mills Lane rocks.
I think the IBF should be disbanded and that hopefully now that Holyfield isn't world champion and is probably considering retirement that Don King will eventually lose his influence on the game and allow it to gain a bit of respectability, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Well done, Lennox, though it's about time we had an undisputed Heavy Weight Champ.
Get rid of Don King. He has a hand in nearly everything boxing, and it just doesn't smell right.
I think the whole system should change. You should start to make boxing more international so all the important decisions wouldn't be made in USA, because it seems quite clear that the Americans want that all the champions to come from America. If you are European and you want to become the world champion, you have to be at least ten times better than your American opponent, beat the heck out of him and still you wont be the world champion (as we all have seen). The Americans are always at their homeground so they automatically have the psychological advantage. Why aren't the Americans brave enough to come to Europe sometimes?
The government should step in and establish a National Boxing Board to oversee the sport. This would make all the states' petty little differences moot and clean the sport up. Don King should not be able to "own" a fighter for life... and suck the wages from him... and laugh about it. It's a sad sport when ex-cons and felons can run it and rise to the top. Boxing is never going to be taken as anything but a crooked sport unless something drastic is done. Pro boxing may be the next millennium's Pro Wrestling... watched but not taken seriously.
Get rid of scumbags like Don King; Forbid "slave" contracts tying up fighters
to promoters; Only one sanctioning body instead of the 3 jokes we now have.
Keep King Out!!!
Boxing is a brutal sport -- inside and outside the squared circle. Wheeling and dealing outsiders as well as insiders abound and mess-up the "sweet science" sport. To clean the game and get rid of the crooks, first start with unifying the boxing organizations & appoint a decent commissioner the likes of David Stern, the late Primo Nebiolo and J.A. Samaranch. My personal view is that ALL of the current heads of boxing organizations are crooks and paid hacks. Second, get rid of known boxing racketeers like Don King & his accomplices -- judges, referees, handlers and fighters. Third, improve and systematize the scoring system -- similar to a certain extent to the amateur boxing system. And fourth, impose stiff penalties to erring officials and boxers.
Do you mean other than ban boxing altogether? The government seems to make efforts to control drugs and crime, when the kickbacks don't involve anyone important. Do the same in boxing. When a convicted murderer is the biggest promoter in boxing what do you expect? And don't give me he deserves a second chance! King is a bigger crook now than when he went to jail the first time! The best part being, EVERYONE IN THE WORLD KNOWS IT! Other than banning a once exciting sport, take it to the wrestling level. Wrestling on the so-called "professional" level is fake, and, acknowledged by the powers that be as fake. Still, millions of dollars are made on this vaudeville sideshow. And really, that's what sports are about anyway. Money!!
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