It’s Time to Heed The Word of The Boxing Fan

This past Saturday saw one of the worst decisions ever delivered in a boxing ring.

Brandon Rios, the “name fighter” was systematically outfoxed by the far more ring savvy Cuban, Richard Abril; to the tune of an almost shut out. But, when the cards came, they were tainted by lies. This is just one on a long list of disgusting decisions witnessed in a boxing ring of late: Chisora v Helenius, Lara v Williams; the list goes on. And it is not only judging. Random point deductions, inexplicable DQ’s, refs allowing one fighter to get away with murder whilst another is penalized for doing their business.

More and more, we, the boxing fan, are being served this tripe; I think it’ time we did something about it.

Boxers are what make the sport, first and foremost, but after that, it is the fans. We are the ones staying up till 4am and dishing out our hard earned money for each per pay per view. We are the ones booking flights and hotels, taking time out of our lives and money out of our pockets to support our favourites.

Boxers are literally putting their lives on the line; don’t they all deserve a fair platform on which to execute their skills? Not just the ones represented by those with the deepest pockets.

But what do we get? Pantomime endings and farcical decisions.

Outrage is everywhere: on forums, chat rooms and twitter, with regards the state of this once great sport. But it doesn’t seem to have one voice.

So! What do we want?

We want financial penalties and bans for Judges, such as those involved in the Rios v Abril scoring debacle. Why should they get paid? Why should they ever work a card again?

We want no contests to be declared by the governing bodies when fights like this occur, so that even if the official’s don’t do their jobs, the fight can be annulled afterward.

We want fighters to face their mandatories and not allowed to go on cherry picking in house opposition to suit a promoter or sanctioning bodies’ agenda.
We want public scalding from networks such as HBO and Showtime, They’re ultimately the ones in power, so why not call it as it is?

In short: We Want Accountability!

What do we need?

We need support from those involved in the sport. We need boxers, agents, managers, promoters and pundits who actually care about the sport to sign this petition and show how they feel publicly.

We need you, the fan, to sign and forward this petition. Help give us all a voice by posting on every forum, chat room and social media site.

We need thousands upon thousands of signatures and comments outlining why we are so frustrated.

We need change.

What can we do?

Boxing is a sport which is fast losing its credibility. The simple truth is that boxing does not cater for its fans anymore. Those with the power are self-serving, and we, the boxing fan, are complicit when we sit by and do nothing. You want to keep watching boxing - so do I - but do you want to finish a card exhilarated by what you have just witnessed, or disgusted by favouritism and outright bias?

Other than the boxers themselves, we are the most important people in the sport. It’s time we started acting like it.

I have seen some encouraging things on the forums this morning regarding the latest in a string of terrible decisions. People are frustrated and want change.

Please sign this petition, show your dissatisfaction, and help kickstart change.

 
With enough signatures this petition will be forwarded to all major sanctioning bodies, promoters and media outlets inviting them to comment on what they are willing to do to resolve this huge issue in our sport. Boxing is losing fans in droves and it is because of fights like Rios v Abril.

Support fairness in our sport. This is for the fighters and fans, the people that matter.

Help us get 100,000 signatures and ensure our voices are heard.
We are only asking for fairness, nothing more or less; just like any other self-respecting sport.

Sign this petition and show you support fairness in our sport.