More than ever, the Internet has allowed regular Joes with great ideas to turn their inventions into a way of life for millions of people across the world. Before the Internet, you had to be rich or have big time connections to make your unique innovation come to life. It is because of this that the best ideas can now consistently beat out the biggest brand names if the buying public gets a better product for their buck from the new guy.
One such idea that is long overdue and needs to change a failing industry is the crisp airing of live boxing on the Internet for free and / or pay-per-view. The only proven way for this to work is the same way that every other Internet beamed form of entertainment has become successful: the viewer has to have complete control to drop what sucks and load up on what brings them pleasure.
The creators of Napster, My Space, and You Tube were all regular Joes with a dollar and a dream who became millionaires because they all understood this basic rule. People want the absolute power to pick and choose what they want, how they want, and when they want without having to carry dead weight.
In the boxing world, this would mean that the viewer can click on the Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo brawl while deleting the Bernard Hopkins vs. Morrade Hakkar bout. What would keep the quality of fights good is that they would air similar to how elections are run in the U.S.A. but much better. Maxboxing would be the politician who has to win elections held every week. The only way to win the public’s trust every week is to give them the best fights on a weekly basis or face getting replaced by someone who is willing to give the boxing public what it wants.
The best way to make sure that only the best product beams through Maxboxing’s air waves is to allow several promoters to air their fights for free ONLY if the matchmaking guarantees action between two solid boxers. Every single promoter walking on the face of the Earth today absolutely fiends to bring this type of exposure to their developing and established fighters.
This method works out for everybody in several ways. Remember how Francisco Bojado and Jeff Lacy’s ShoBox-aired fun filled march up the ranks were sandwiched in between a slew of scrubs on Frank Warren’s cards from Europe? Under this new way of airing boxing, the Lacys and Bojados of some backwater town in Uzbekistan, Denmark, or Colombia can replace the bum fights from Britain to ensure the viewing public that they will only watch the best fights among the best young fighters from whatever part of the world they may come from.
Do you believe for a second that Colombian KO artists like Ener Julio, Epifanio Mendoza, Joel Julio, and Ricardo Torres were fighting boring stinkers in South America before they “suddenly started” laying smack downs on the then unbeaten Randall Bailey, Miguel Cotto, Rubin Williams, Tokunbo Olajide, and Co.? Of course not. Would you have liked to have seen these Colombians’ fights leading up to their American debuts instead of two bums who are with a promoter that has juice with the networks? Of course you would.
At the point that these young turks mature into contenders or champions, a boxing fan will know full well whether or not they are worth the money for a Pay-Per-View show because their mettle and skills have been on full display for years. The previously “unknown and mysterious” Mzonke Fanas and Mario Veits of the world will never make it to your credit card statement with this way of airing fights.
The future of Internet boxing also involves eventually striking the perfect balance between entertainment and beat downs. Since fans have a rooting interest in their favorite gladiators if they feel a bond with them, the option to view an extensive bio of a fan favorite boxer should be given during the week of the fights. This feature would be similar to how reality TV programs document every step in the lives of their show’s most charismatic personalities so as to cement the audience’s link to their favorite or worst person in the series.
For example, who wouldn’t love to see the entire Micky Ward vs. Emmanuel Augustus beauty of a brawl broadcast live over the Internet, and then (just as with DVD’s) have the option of pressing a button that allows you to tag along with the eccentric and hilarious (trust me, I hung out with him ringside in Fort Lauderdale) Emmanuel Augustus as he shops for munchies in Compton at 3 in the morning? Would you have enjoyed watching James Toney clowning around on the set of “Ali” (when Toney played Joe Frazier) with Will Smith and Jamie Foxx as a cross promotion for the film “Ali” and Toney’s upcoming bout after the film? The possibilities are endless in this modern world of ours.
This concept is tried and tested already so there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Just as I-Tunes allows you the option of buying 12 great songs for $15 instead of a $15 CD with one catchy single and 11 crappy songs, the boxing viewer will select only the best fights. No exceptions.
The truly international industry of kicking ass can be seen through the prism of what pioneering directors John Woo and Run Run Shaw went through. Woo and Shaw filmed action movies in Hong Kong that were better than what Hollywood was churning out, and at a fraction of the price that a Hollywood blockbuster costs. Nevertheless, Woo and Shaw didn’t have any big opening weekends for their foreign fight films despite the fact that their DVDs lay around more college dorms and living rooms across America than all but a precious few top American action movies.
Did Asian directors suddenly get good overnight? Of course they didn’t. These talented men were always making great films but just didn’t kiss a Hollywood executive’s pinkie ring in order to get their great films promoted at the American box office. This is why Sylvester Stallone’s “Cobra” doesn’t hold a candle to Chow Yun Fat’s “The Killer”, but still gets replayed on American cable more than “The Killer” has.
The good news however is that Hollywood and boxing power brokers are now learning the hard way that the only way to keep the paying public interested in your product during bleak economic times is to let them choose what they will and won’t pay for. Too many entertainment and boxing executives tell the public what they want to see instead of listening to what they want. By cutting out the filter of out-of-touch or uninspired executives who are force feeding more of the same old slop for the fans to tolerate with a grimace, the direct link between high action entertainment can now be beamed to any laptop anywhere in the world.
In keeping with the true spirit of combat sports, we should always strive to seek the best quality fights at all times and that can only be done by cutting out the middle men and going straight to wherever on God’s green earth unfiltered artistic violence is unfolding in the ring. Just as the ancient Roman emperors would turn their thumbs up or down to spare or condemn a gladiator, the boxing fan will be able to determine on a week to week basis which fighters will be allowed to fight on another day.
