I really did not want to write about these topics but someone has to since the growth of the sport is not as significant as it could be.

Every boxer, male or female, wants Mayweather money, fame, privilege. Regardless of his current situation or past active status, he earned the demand by more than what he did inside the gym and arena. He sold tickets to every show he was on, not necessarily by what today’s boxers have to do by exchange cash for physical tickets. He sold tickets and opportunities by becoming the personality.

We lose concept of what is attainable and how to get there, based on other individual athlete’s achievements: the “I want what she has” attitude.

I constantly recall the hype one east coast boxer gained by the public notice of $30,000 in ticket sales to one show. Best case scenario… $30,000 of cheapest ticket of $50 equates to 600 tickets. That does not sell out most small venue shows. I hate to pop that bubble and does not mean that boxer makes nearly majority of that money in purse value due to operating costs of putting on a show.

Another amateur standout jumps to the professional ranks and wins multiple titles within a handful of bouts. That is her achievement where very few are truly striving to get to a comparable level.

TV coverage has now been attained by females under numerous promotional banners and aired on virtually every airwaves so who is winning these rights and how? One of those channels just signed off the air for good. Who wins? Who benefits?

We glorify numbers and dollar amounts because the sport is finally experiencing growth. But that growth is still in it’s infancy stage until the boxing community as a whole starts to evolve into 2019.

Female boxing also has a stigma of gender perception. Many general boxing news sites publicize the high level fights but the general public comments are not very flattering. Men generally do not want to see women being battered in even a legally abusive setting.

Can the age demographics be swayed? Are we all barking up the wrong tree by trying to appeal to the current boxing follower?

Many questions lay unanswered and more keep arising after HBO After Dark last Saturday.

The unDISPUTED Numbers

According to Nielsen Media Research, Saturday’s “Boxing After Dark” at StubHub Center in Carson, CA,was topped by the opening bout, Claressa Shield’s Unified Middleweight Championship defense triumph over WBO Super Middleweight Champion Femke Hermans of Belgium.

Numbers recorded as: 339,000 average household viewers, peaking at 379,000.

Despite the overall show numbers being among the series lowest in it’s history, it compares well against the Showtime Boxing Shields vs. Hanna Gabriels championship matchup viewer numbers from June 22nd show with 376,000 average and a peak of 410,000.

The men’s bout sandwiched between the female bouts was dismal, yet higher than the Main Event.

Then you assume the P4P Queen was going to be the gate and viewer draw that she thinks she is ESPECIALLY as the Main Event… Cough, Cough… Let’s be serious! Not many fans, participants, potential fans wanted to see the matchup that was setup.

Cecilia Brækhus vs. Aleksandra Magdziak-Lopes was a snoozer, averaging a horrible 276,000 viewers with a peaked viewer total of 347,000. The numbers dropped severely from Cinco de Mayo number. Brækhus vs. Kali Reis that averaged 904,000 with a peak of 1,024,000.   YIKES!

At many times, cameras panned around StubHub Center seating to show that many seats were empty. The capacity of the venue is set to 8,000. For seats to go unsold spells some of the issues.

Let’s face it… Boxing (like all sports in 2018) is a business. If you (the athlete) are not selling tickets / putting fans in the seats while being a TV attraction, the ROI that you are demanding is not there. The promoters, sponsors, TV companies need to see value and a Return On their Investment in you (the athlete).

I have been saying for years now that streaming is the future, NOT TV. TV is the past and straps you to one place in today’s busy lifestyles. No wonder DAZN is now working with promoters and specific athletes as HBO turns the lights out for the last time.

Matchroom Boxing started the DAZN boxing craze and now it is expanding all over the place.

DAZN features Katie Taylor this Saturday in a Battle to Keep the 0 (Loses) with a talent that in non-aggressive in nature, fan-appealing, role-model, thriving champion and potential legend in the female game.

The Quality of the Product

After the Brækhus/Reis May Megamatch, boxing enthusiasts (women’s AND men’s) were emphatically pleased with the play in the ring. It was talked about for weeks.

Brækhus/Magdziak-Lopes was cautiously optimistically in perception but lived up to the forgettable status that was anticipated long before they stepped foot inside the ropes.

Main Event – 360 Promotions and Cecilia Brækhus had contacted a few boxers for this matchup and seemed (like numerous bouts previously) like their plans are always to give the B-side the least amount of time for a proper preparation camp.

One month prior to Fight Night, 360 Promotions announced Magdziak-Lopes as Brækhus’s championship opponent.

While Magdziak-Lopes is somehow ranked high in all major sanctioning bodies, the athlete pool mostly scoffed at the choice. On Saturday evening, we saw exactly why top tier athletes shook their heads in disbelief and disappointment.

Not only did far less viewers tune in, but the subpar skillsets of the challenger and champion were criticized by analysts and trainers worldwide.

And all this after HBO Boxing’s Max Kellerman asked Brækhus about a rematch on May 5th. The world heard her response: “For sure! For sure! Because we made one hell of a fight! Let’s do this! Let’s do a rematch!”

With the Magdziak-Lopes announcement, many athletes had words to say about it, and now seem justified.

Kali Reis stated to #WomenofBoxing:
“Ughhhh I’m so fkin annoyed at this point I dunno what to say”

“But I will say this. Braekhus promised a rematch, obviously she was just saying that to either silence the crowds Boos towards the decision or she was jus so excited she survived and managed pull off a UD or a combination of the two . I HAD a lot of respect for her but now I’m seeing a whole new side. She doesn’t have that drive fire or genuine HUNGER for REAL boxing like she did when she was chasing Holly Holmes, and you know what I get it . You did everything you wanted in boxing ok so shit or get off the pot. Women’s boxing has come far from where it was but THIS FIGHT with lopes is setting us back. Braekhus is beyond taking easy fight being “P4P” n all. She needs to fight the best to remain the best that’s just how it goes. That’s the duty to be reining queen if she doesn’t like the job then quit. At the end of the day I feel the sanctions could definitely help with pushing the issues but as long as they get paid they don’t care. They want the ones with the most dollar signs behind them representing their sanctions. The fight with Lopes doesn’t makes sense, here’s why: lopes is coming off a draw with a mediocre opponent Spence well over a years ago. The fight was like watching fucking paint dry!!! Lopes DOES NOT ENGAGE Braekhus is gonna daily box her fucking ears off. Another fun fact: I’ve been trying to fight lopes here for YEARS she will simply not fight me ever and she has stated that a number of times. We tried offering her a fight recently and they declined due to “not wanting to take a tough fight coming off of an injury” . That broad won’t even spar with me lol”

“So the two ducks can duke it out. I’ll be there watching n I’ll be in that damn gym everyday getting smarter stronger faster and more hungry”

Brækhus/Reis apparently broke the gender in terms of instant appeal, with over 1M viewers. After HBO Boxing executives allowed and maybe had provoked Kellerman to open the conversation on rematch in May, how did it NOT happen?Inquiring minds want to know but of course… No one will spill the beans. The knockdown may have been the threat of supremacy!

For a while in 2018, Layla McCarter was named as mandatory opponent to the champion by at least one sanctioning body. What happened (or failed to happen) there?

Luis Tapia, Manager for McCarter, cited:
“Aleksandra, is the worse opponent that they can pick. She just can’t fight, they just want Cecilia to look good. She should fight Layla McCarter but she will lose or a rematch with Reis. I just can’t understand the concept of cheating the public and getting away with it”

“360 Promotions and K2 concept is just to make a little bit of money, they are paying nothing to Cecilia and chocolatito but they are happy because they are getting a win. Also the HBO budget is terrible. They should stop with all this, making the sport of boxing looking like SHIT! Tom Loeffler is concentrating in making money only and not making the best fight possible”

“Look at Lopez record and tell me how she got ranked. Her last fight was a draw but she really lost that fight and against a girl 8-3 Natasha Spence”

“Cecilia Braekhus is nothing else but a Paper Champion!!”

All this is a fucking joke. We also challenged Katie Taylor and she said not yet. Maybe next year”

“Layla McCarter is the Boogie Woman”

Opening TV Bout – Shields’ Middleweight championship defense against Super Middleweight Champion Femke Hermans looked like a quality matchup on paper. Seeing the highest views translates to winner of the night.

But there is still much more left to be desired.

The champion from Flint, MI and spokesperson for Flint’s water crisis should have had a vast majority of it’s local 39,780 households (according to the US Census Bureau) turning into HBO Boxing After Dark on Saturday. That translates to up to 10% of peak viewers of her bout could have been locals with the rest of the country seeming to be potentially disinterested. Hmmmmmmm… We all have to work on marketing names brands to a broader audience.

Next, Sheilds’ punches are high volume and scoring effective, but lack technique and power. Everyone is afraid to say it publicly because of the aggressive backlash. But, I said it! The power is not there! Not one opponent in 8 professional bouts have touched the canvas. Shields has 2 KOs to her credit but are referee stoppages and not exactly opponents that looked soon to have been to touch the ring mat. Shields has touch canvas more than her 8 opponents so not “GWOAT” yet.

I know! I know! I (Jay Kemp) have never boxed! Honestly, I can say I have never thrown a punch! So who am I to criticize a professional boxer? I am a former athlete in many sports. As a four sport nationally licensed coach, I do understand coaching theory, muscle kinetics in sports movements, as well as footwork and other offensive and defensive techniques and tactics from decades of individual and team sports involvement. Additionally, I am working on another project themed on the physics of the punch, coincidentally for reasons spoken on by RJJ on Saturday evening… Turning over the punch!

One should never give themselves a nickname. Nicknames are bestowed upon you by others. Let’s calm down on the “GWOAT” for now… Maybe in time, the name will fit but the constructive criticism from Roy Jones Jr. was acknowledged by Shields and is a valid concern.

The Best Fighting the Best

Former HBO Boxing executive and now Claressa Shields Manager, Mark Taffet, stated their intentions of going after the best in basically every matchup, the Best Fighting the Best. For the most part, Team Shields has done so.

This is a great concept that is tremendous in theory since it is what the fans want. But, the logistics are not really lined up to the liking for all.

We are obviously on the verge of Shields vs. Christina Hammer in Spring 2019, after Hammer overcomes her health concerns. Shields has already faced numerous champions and top level opposition.

First problem is the value of matchups, many prospect challengers are pricing themselves out of the market. Again, the ROI is not met for promoters to offer high value fight contracts. The “I want what she has” attitude does not get you anything unless you are working outside the gym to warrant that opportunity to try and take what’s hers.

I want what every boxer whats, PROGRESS. It’s time to put in the work. That is what I created #WomenofBoxing for and made it yours (the athletes) to own, to use, and increase your market value!

The Baby Steps to Equality

I have asked athletes time and time again, how are fans acknowledging (insert athletes name) in public. “Are you recognized, out in public?”

If the answer is “No”, there is one of your biggest problems!

Fan acquisition is a huge part of your life in boxing. And what is you Manager doing for you, beside taking their cut from your purse? You already have enough people taking cuts from your purse, like promoter, trainer, government…

Becoming the top demand athlete is more work than what is done in the gym and then in the ring on fight night.

I will be your Manager for a moment here and provide you all with some FREE starter #Box4Respect advice… Get involved with area organizations (Health advocacy organization are awesome) to put your name, face, accomplishments, and goals in front of potential fans. Organizations love professional athlete / spokespersons / ambassadors and their involved participants tend to be motivated and look at those athletes as idols or role models. It is a win-win for all! If you have/had someone close to you affected with cancer – volunteer with area cancer organization, diabetes – diabetes advocacy organization, heart disease… , gender rights… , etc.

A great example of this came up over a month ago, out of Mexico. Young amateur Stephanie “Niña de Oro” Martinez has made a huge name for herself by selfless acts of raising money for children with disabilities while hosting boxing clinics and more. We (WomenofBoxing.com) had to donate to such a unselfish act for other’s gains. Did she have to do it, for her club – to fundraiser for her boxing expenses. NO! As a young teenage woman, she acted as a caring human being with a heart of gold. Fanny gained global acknowledgement for her act of kindness. That kid is a true #NextGenChamp!

Before you jump to your quick justifications, let me point out that social media followers are not the same as fans. Just because you have thousands of followers on social medias doesn’t necessarily relate to true fan-base that builds that ROI. Many of them are looking for cheap tickets/free tickets and/or cheapest ways to see your fight (Facebook Live or illegal streams). Again, this does nothing to your marketable value unless the Live stream is the only option to view a non-broadcast event and fans are not local. If you actually did some match, your percentages of physical tickets sold for one event to the number of social media followers you have will not be a high number.

Ultimately, be true to your craft. Because things are not going to your simple plan, do not assume the grass is greener in MMA and expect to follow Holly Holm’s footsteps why crying how boxing did you dirty. Learning another martial arts discipline is not a one year learning process and gives shows your true dedication or lack there of.

Conclusion

I have been discussing these topics with people since well before I conceptualized this website.

Many, many years ago, I was told that I (being in Chicago) would never make it in this sport, nor being taken with any credibility since I am not in a “major” market like Vegas. Yet, I progressed with the plan. To this day, I keep getting requests to manage or advise athletes. But, I maintain my unbiased positioning by declining all.

I am NOT here for my own financial gains!

I am here and offering my input for the best interest of this sport and all of it’s participants!