By: Victory Voice Media

Boxing has always been one of the hardest, most rewarding sports in the world. It’s a proving ground for both mental and physical toughness, where boxers put their life dedication into becoming the best. But behind those glittery, high-stakes sports, here come the eight biggest unfair realities professional boxers have to put up with in their careers.

Promotional Politics

Promotional politics are some of the most difficult complexities boxers have to face. Promoters have a huge grip on which fights get made and how, and far too often, fighters get caught in the crossfire from competing promoters. Fighters who are not signed with the leading promoters, or who do not fit into their promotional agendas, are sometimes left out in the cold or forced to make bad deals. Sometimes these highly publicized fights get delayed, as it takes years or may never happen when promoters are putting personal interests ahead of what should be best for the sport. This creates a culture where boxers have very little say in their careers and cannot secure the fights they want.

Unequal Pay

While superstars of the sport can make tens of millions off one bout, the reality is pretty different for most professional boxers. The pay structure in professional boxing is highly unequal; the best-paid boxers represent a wide gulf from those fighting on undercards. Even on nights of big fights, some undercard fighters seldom break even, with very meagre purses that amount to less than a fraction of what headliners are paid. Others only get a portion of the fight purse given that most of the money goes towards training camps, nutrition, and paying their teams. This huge difference in pay and reward makes it difficult for talented boxers to enjoy long careers.

Incompetent Judging

Judging is one of the things that happens in pro boxing that truly gets under a person’s skin. Boxing bouts can be very subjective, with several boxers losing fights on account of bad decisions on behalf of the judges. One can count instances of fighters who were in front but lost to controversial scorecards. Such unjust decisions can dent a fighter’s career, as losses recorded against him may come up with future opportunities, rankings, and finances coming his way. Notably, with so much at stake, the absence of consistent, fair judging remains a flagrant problem in the sport.

Short Careers and Lack of Post-Career Support

Boxing is, without a doubt, one of the most injurious sports with regard to the human body. Indeed, professional boxers have only an extremely small window of time to maximally cash in on their boxing abilities, establish their general success, and usher them into retirement due to advanced age, injury, or simply wear and tear. Whereas, the sad reality is that most of the boxers retired without financial security or savings that would help them get by. Despite the risks they go through with every fight in the ring, there is little or no support after a boxer’s career, and most have long-term health problems, financial problems, and adjusting to a new profession. Once their fighting days are over, they’re often left to fend for themselves.

Corruption and Favoritism

However, corruption and favoritism are likely the far more unfortunate realities in boxing. There have, in fact, been numerous accusations in which influential powers in the sport have manipulated an outcome or rankings or even who gets opportunities for major fights. A fighter may be favored based on his connections, marketability, or promotional backing, while a fighter of equal-or greater-skill gets passed over. This kind of nepotism creates an unfair playing field and may stand in the way of talented yet less-well-connected fighters from breaking through, even if they have the ability to compete at the highest level.

Dangerous Matchmaking

Too many fighters are being put into dangerous bouts where they are grossly outmatched, serving as an opposing catalyst in building up a better fighter’s record, or due to inept management. These mismatches can put fighters in grave danger of injury, since they are often used merely as stepping-stones for the more marketable fighters. This unfair practice not only jeopardizes the health and safety of the underdog fighters but also tarnishes the integrity of the sport with regard to preordained outcomes.

Conclusion

Professional boxing actually confronts a number of challenges outside the physical dynamics of the sport itself. For promotional politics alone, but also inequity in pay and unsafe matchmaking are just areas within which the professional world of boxing has placed an unfair obstacle in the path of many fighters. While boxing will indeed always be a sport of passion, resilience, and heart, such issues continue to shadow the careers of many dedicated athletes. Addressing these issues would not only make boxing at least fairer but also contribute to the preservation of health and safety, dignity, and livelihood of the fighters who dedicate themselves to this sport.

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Published by: Martin De Juan