[Chatty]

For new pro's ticket selling can have a huge affect on your career when it comes to the professional ranks. Often boxers are required to sell a set number of tickets before they are granted a place on the card. This can come as a hindrance to those who who have to mix up training with effectively a job in sales especially if they are in full time employment as well.

Some guys find it hard to sell tickets and can be pushed into fighting on the road in tougher fights where they could be on the wrong side of decisions fighting in opponents home-towns. it can also sway talented boxers into the path of a journeyman knowing they can make a good wage fighting when needed anywhere on a moments notice and effectively having a job giving opponents tests rather than get the preparation time to go out their and notch up victories.

On the otherside of the coin promoters are looking to make sure that their shows sell out so they can sustain promoting, especially if they are small hall and with the risk of injuries, pull outs and other such hassles the boxing game is renowned for they have to run a business and therefore must look after their own interests.

So do you think its a good system, a fair system or a bad system, what could be done better from a boxer or promoters standpoint?

 

[JamieC]

Very bad, it should be the promoters jon to promote and sell tickets, the fighter shouldn't worry about that, if he's good he can be built up and people will buy tickets then. Like you say it also pushes people down the journeyman route, which despite people banging on saying they are the backbone of the game, I think is a load of shit. People turning up having been effectively paid to lose can't be good for anyone

 

[Kid Lucky]

It's a strange one isn't it. I don't think that most people understand that's how boxing works.

It does mean that some fighters completely drop out of the game despite us never knowing how good they are. There's a lad I've seen box in Devon a few times called Ben Wakeham who's unbeaten but he hasn't fought for a couple years presumably because he can't sell the tickets he needs and being out in the sticks there's not much to be made from getting on the journeyman circuit.

It does make me laugh that people who don't know the game think that the journeymen are to be felt sorry for as they lose every other week. They are at least making a living out of it, not needing to sell any tickets at all and usually look after themselves.

I don't know what the alternative is though unless you can in with a promoter, but even then you'd still be expected to either flog tickets or be going places

 

[Pro box North east]

Small hall promoters could not survive putting shows on with out the lads selling tickets ,We don't have the luxury of 100k Tv money,

 

[wrimc]

Obviously its a skewed system but it really is just and indicator of how far boxing has slipped. Essentially what happens when they put a small hall show on is each of the boxers friends and family turn up to watch them beat up somebody. So obviously the incentive isn't for competitive fights bit knockover jobs. Its a vicious cirlce in as much as people fully well knowing this unless they have some sorted vested interest in a fighter will not be interested because they will not see competitive fights.

My persona opinion has always been that a series of regular shows at the same venue with consistently competitive fights would draw a crowd regardless of who was fighting and at what level as long aspeople knew that when they turned up they would get an evenings worth of entertainment.

 

[DonBoxer]

I think its at the point now where there is far more pressure on the fighters rather than the promoters to sell tickets. It generally means that a popular local level fighter will end up fighting loads of walk overs rather than properly preparing themselves to start fighting for British titles because the small hall promoters want to keep their bread winners undefeated.

 

[Libertarian]

Promoters just don't do their job properly.

They're happy to count their money but don't put the graft in to make sure the event is a success.