Everything can be political. Business, especially in capitalist locations, almost always includes an element of social climbing and backdoor entry into bigger and better positions. Likeability is the key to personal progress. The gathering and maintenance of power is central to humanity?s self interested world view, and this principle is pervasive throughout all communities. Unfortunate as that may be, humanity must deal with it is as not an evil but as a necessity.
The beautiful thing about boxing is that there are no politics once the men actually enter the ring. Sure, decisions can be drowned in a layer of dirty tricks, but elections have no knockouts. Only fights can be ended without the judges playing a part.
Boxing and Politics are still brothers in arms. For every facet of one, you will find a distinct equal in the other. Presented here for you is RSR?s Politics-Boxing Metaphorical Dictionary.
President
Pound for Pound Champion. The President of Boxing is the man that is currently listed as the most powerful fighter in the world. Every other man in the world is gunning for him either literally or figuratively. The President of the United States has term limits, while the President of Boxing can reign as long as he likes; however, no man stays on top forever. Currently, Manny Pacquiao is President of the Boxing World. Whether he survives through another term against Oscar De La Hoya is another question entirely. Speaking of whom?
King
The Money Man (and I don?t mean Floyd Mayweather, JR). The man who has the most control in terms of options is not necessarily the best fighter out there. In fact, the two are usually mutually exclusive. Mayweather was very close to dethroning Oscar De La Hoya as King of the Ring and almost became President and King of Boxing simultaneously. After his retirement (read as ?Abdication?) Oscar De La Hoya is now the unthreatened monarch of the sport and the King of the Ring. No one demands as much cash as he does, and no one is called out more than he is.
PACS (Political Action Committees)
Promotional Organizations. Political Action Committees in politics are meant to advocate large scale legislation that will create new approaches to government. In boxing, the only thing actually advocated for is boxing matches. Sure, there are a few organizations here and there that suggest legal challenges and changes to the rules of the sport, but these organizations seldom gain traction in their ideas. Instead, most of the movement is in the business world, where Bob Arum, Lou Dibella and every other promoter wheedles, deals, and sometimes swindles while tying hands with crime.
Supreme Court Justices
Ringside Judges. These guys get to choose what happens at the end of most fights. Just like the real Supreme Court, these judges make it sound as though their opinions are based on actual logical facts while they create long winded narratives about who wins. Just as in real court cases of the highest kinds, these judges give the wrong man the decision a solid portion of the time. Just like real Supreme Court Justices, there is nothing that The People can do to stop them.
Congress
Sanctioning Organizations. Bodies made up of Aristocrats with a 99% incumbency rate. You have a better chance of knocking out Lennox Lewis yourself than ever changing the faces that run the alphabet soup groups. These men are able to cajole, bribe, bash, and generally destroy anything that stands in their path. When they want something, they get it, no matter how ridiculous the policy may be.
Laws
Rule Changes. These are often superfluous. There have been some rule changes in the fight game over the last few decades, most of them rather weak in terms of positive, credible change. One of the most significant is the expansion of bouts from twelve to fifteen rounds, a response to the death of Duk Koo Kim. Fighters have also now been forced to give more physical examinations with more tools, including electrocardiograms and brain tests.
Attorney General
Referee. Hey, don?t blame him when something goes awry. He?s just there to enforce the contest. At least, that?s the standard copout for both a referee and an Attorney General. In spite of that excuse, neither man should be let off the hook based purely on his position of authority. Attorney Generals have the ability to manipulate the system by shifting prosecutors based on personal stories, political affiliations or other basic conflicts. Referees can stop or slow action at the wrong time, make silly point reductions, call a fight erratically, or look the other way when they should be issuing warnings. In many ways, both have too much power.
Checks and Balances
Ummmmmm?
The Media
This is the closest term we have to a synonymous idea. Boxing has its own press, complete with big time and small time publications ranging from the very site you read to Ring Magazine itself. Like the political news media, it is our job to bring you as much information as possible in a variety of self declared forms. Sometimes, this coverage is editorialized and other times it is meant as an objective approach to the story. We hope that we make it clear when we are taking one approach or the other.
Elections
Pay Per View. A genius once said that a dollar is a vote. In boxing, it takes fifty votes to count. The key difference between a Pay Per View and an Election is that Elections have winners and losers. While a Pay Per View might have a bad turnout, the executives at HBO still tend to just fine. The real suckers are those that vote when the options are poor. Those suckers are just a small cross section of?
The People
This is you, my friend. Without fans, Boxing (and Boxers) has little or nothing. Sport and News is always built on the backs of The People. Without fans to pack in Madison Square Garden, the MGM Grand and voting booths from sea to shining sea, there is neither Democracy nor a Fight Game. The best fighters in the world tend to understand this, taking a friendly approach to the media and understanding that there is no money available without them. Keep up the good work.
