Alphabet Soup: Bloggers Look To Save Boxing
by Gautham Nagesh
Bitching about the sanctioning bodies is as much a part of boxing as jumping rope or hitting the heavy bag. If you’ve ever covered or cared about the professional fight game at all, then you have been dumbfounded by the decisions of the alphabet bodies, which is why we started this little segment in the first place. But complaining and doing something about it are two different things.
To their credit, one group of boxing journalists and bloggers is trying to do something about it. The touchpoint was the recent overhaul of The Ring Magazine’s ratings policy, the goal of which appears to be to destroy whatever credibility those rankings have left after Golden Boy’s meddling with the formerly august publication. It’s hard not to notice the recent shift in the Ring rankings, and I say that as someone that has written for The Ring’s website once (though to be fair, they have still yet to pay me).
Thankfully the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board has stepped in to fill the gap. Hopefully this new international rankings board, which is currently comprised of 25 credible boxing writers from around the world, will bring some meaning to the insanity that currently governs boxing ratings. If these new ratings mean we will no longer see untested prospects claim to have earned “world titles” by beating up washed-up opposition, it could go a long way toward curing what ails boxing. After all, how are the best supposed to fight the best if we can’t even agree on who the best are?
From the press release:[[MORE]]
First, we will share authority under a charter and not any one individual. The Transnational Boxing Rankings (TBR) will be generated every month by an exchange of members’ ideas, persuasive argument, and consensus-building. Three chairs will be responsible for facilitating discussion, preventing factionalism, and weighing arguments. They too are members.
Second, it is a not-for-profit enterprise. We are not in the business of selling a product any more than we are in the business of selling influence. Our members, formidable though they are, are volunteers.
Thirdly, our championship policy will identify who holds the true crown in each weight division. At this time we recognize light heavyweight Chad Dawson, super middleweight Andre Ward, middleweight Sergio Martinez, and flyweight Toshiyuki Igarashi. Saturday night will see another seize a true crown when junior featherweights Toshiaki Nishioka, the TBR’s first contender, faces Nonito Donaire, the TBR’s second contender. Common sense tells us that a division’s true crown can only be seized by combat between the two best in a singular ring before a singular world. The third, fourth, and fifth-ranked contenders neither belong nor fit in that ring. We too see the stark evidence that the top two contenders are rarely matched in the modern era, but we will not capitulate to the status quo, we will change it.
It begins with language. Words and phrases like “undisputed,” “title holder,” “belt holder,” “slice/piece of a title,” and “unification bout,” are the stuff of delusion. We recognize who is behind the delusion and resolve to respect neither the alphabet organizations nor their belts. We will ignore them. But we will not ignore history.
The ringleaders of this group of rabble-rousers appear to be Tim Starks of The Queensberry Rules, Cliff Rold, and Springs Toledo. Other writers we respect that have signed on include Jake Donovan, Steve Zemach, Alex McClintock, Michael Woods, and Per Ake Persson. In other words, these are serious people with real knowledge of the sport. Anything they produce should be a noticeable improvement over the laughable “rankings” offered by the alphabet bodies. I’m also told by Starks (who in the interests of full disclosure, is my colleague at Congressional Quarterly) that the group may expand in the near future. I’ve already inquired about joining myself.
As with anything in boxing, we must remain patient and see how this new endeavor develops. Whether or not the movement gains traction will likely come down to the fans, whose support could in turn force the promoters to take notice. But for the first time in a while, a group of committed, knowledgeable professionals appears to be taking a serious crack at bringing some order to the boxing world. As far as I’m concerned, that is a reason for hope.