My old friend Travis Tygart is at it again. The executive director of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who was trounced last week by the inquisitive Nevada State Athletic Commission, is now pimping how we pay for his drug testing to journalists who ask.
It may be too little, too late.
He says that if someone makes $40 million on a fight, you take the drug testing money from them. That sounds easy!
Tygart believes in the Obama Administration’s dangerous fantasy of redistribution of wealth which continuously takes from the upper and middle class and gives to those who might be in need. Now apply that to boxing and you see the problem.
Before I get deep into economics, my question to you is: If Bob Arum turns a fighter pro, bankrolls him and a trainer, pays for all of his fights and marketing for years before the fighter turns a profit, if ever, is Arum or the fighter then responsible for paying anything other than their taxes?
Tygart is playing fast and loose with another person’s hard-earned money.
When it comes to pay-per-view revenues,which are highly regulated, they are based upon percentages, not strict fees. Meaning they can lose money as well as make money and who is taking that risk? Not Travis Tygart!
When it comes to casinos, these are highly regulated by the states they are in, and boxing is only a marketing tool for them and they need not contribute to drug testing unless they want to which I doubt they would.
If you go after pay-per-view and casino revenues, then why not the sports bars that buy the annual HBO boxing packages? Are you going to count how many people are actually watching the fight as opposed to shooting pool?
How ridiculous are you going to get with this Mr. Tygart?
Tygart also said you could look for other revenue. That means a tax doesn’t it? He wants to tax fans. Based on what? How big of a fan you are?
Tygart says 2/3 of his money comes from federal grants. So that tells me he is all for additional taxes and continuity of his services.
As I have always said, increasing the testing and techniques is too convoluted, and complex and many fights are put together in the last week or so as opposed to a main event that may have been planned months in advance. Most fights aren’t on television, they are club shows the public never sees or hears about.
From a practical standpoint the USADA and professional boxing don’t mesh.
