Boxing Cheat Sheet (for casual boxing fans)
You scroll through the channel guide on a Saturday night and Boxing is on ESPN. You have no idea who is fighting or what’s at stake but you enjoy the fight and want to learn more. Compared to the other major US sports, Boxing is confusing. In the NBA, we know the goal is to crown an NBA Champion every postseason. In the NFL, we know it’s all about the Super Bowl. But in Boxing you hear things like “franchise champion,” “regular champion,” and “super champion”. It literally makes zero sense. The Boxing Cheat Sheet is my attempt at simplifying the boxing landscape for you through a series of frequently asked questions.
Round 1
Who are the relevant parties?
The Professional Boxer (aka the “Prizefighter” or “Pugilist”): an individual that fights in sanctioned boxing matches for money (aka the “purse amount”). Most pro fighters come from the amateur ranks where the main goal is to qualify for the Olympics (the increased exposure in the Olympics helps them make more $$$ in the pros).
Pro Tip: Boxrec.com is a great site to familiarize yourself with the records of all professional fighters past and present (we will have a separate discussion about boxing rankings).
The Boxing Manager: The Ali Act defines a “manager” as a person who receives compensation for service as an agent or representative of a boxer. Typically, a professional boxer will hire a manager at the beginning of his or her career to ensure that they are protected on all fronts. This includes: managing the boxer’s relationship with promoters, sponsors, and other third parties; supervising the training activities of the fighter; and really making sure the fighter is strategically taking the right fights at the right time in his or her career (unfortunately a loss in boxing can be extremely detrimental to a fighter’s future earning potential). The most important role of the boxing manager is to negotiate favorable deals for the fighter (including the initial promotional agreement and subsequent bout agreements). The boxing manager owes a fiduciary duty to the fighter and is expected to work to serve the best interests of the fighter.
Many states have outlined jurisdictional requirements for length of the term and maximum percentage that a manager can receive. For example, in Nevada, the Nevada State Athletic Commission will not enforce a contract that entitles a manager to more than one-third of a fighter’s earnings.
The Boxing Promoter: The Ali Act defines a “promoter” as the person primarily responsible for organizing, promoting, and producing a professional boxing match. In other words, boxing promoters put boxing cards together. Promoters are the entities that have the relationships with the tv networks and thus they are in position to pay boxers to fight on their cards.
Boxing promoters primarily make money from live gate receipts (selling tickets) and entering into tv and advertising deals for a given boxing card. Promoters agree to pay the fighters a set amount for their participation in a boxing match and they make their profit by generating more money in revenue than they spend in putting the boxing card together. Promoters are in the business to make money and do not owe a fiduciary duty to fighters (this is why boxing managers must zealously advocate for their fighters).
The Sanctioning Organization: Under the Ali Act a “sanctioning organization” is an organization that sanctions professional boxing matches in the United States (aka a belt organization). Think of sanctioning organizations as the entities that rank boxers and create different championships for the various weight classes. There are four major belt organizations: the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA), and the World Boxing Organization (WBO).
Federal and State Regulation of Boxing:
I’ll be brief here.
At the federal level, there is the Professional Boxing Safety Act (focused on fighter safety) and the Ali Act (an attempt to address the corrupt business practices in boxing (think Don King)).
The state athletic commission controls boxing regulation at the state level. State athletic commissions: control the licensing process for each boxing card, assign ringside officials, and they are also responsible for general enforcement and oversight of state specific regulations. The main problem with state athletic commissions is that the rules (and rule enforcement) are inconsistent from state to state.
So why is boxing so hard to follow? Boxing remains the only major sport in the US without a centralized governing body. Instead of one strong entity (like the NBA or NFL) there are a number of belt organizations; a number of boxing promoters; and each state promulgates and enforces their own rules via the State Athletic Commission. To further complicate things, each boxing promoter is affiliated with a different tv/streaming outlet. The main affiliations are as follows: Premier Boxing Champions (affiliated with Fox and Showtime); Golden Boy Promotions (DAZN); Top Rank Boxing (ESPN); Matchroom USA (DAZN); and most recently Ring City USA (Peacock). Mayweather Promotions and Main Events are out there too. Unfortunately, this list is not exhaustive.
Pro tip: Boxingscene.com is a good site to immerse yourself in boxing content.
What does “crossing the street” mean? Each boxing promoter has their own roster of fighters. And as mentioned above, each boxing promoter has their own tv affiliation. It’s rare for a fighter from one promotional entity to fight a fighter from a different entity. But when they do, it’s referred to as “crossing the street”.
Pro tip: When you are talking to your colleagues about matchups you’d like to see make sure the fighters are at or near the same weight class and consider their promotional affiliation (the fight we all want right now is Errol Spence Jr (a PBC fighter) and Terence Crawford (a Top Rank fighter). This fight will take time to make because it will require collaboration between two different promotional entities (and their respective tv partners) to make the numbers work.
About the Author: Larry Alexander is a transactional attorney but more broadly considers himself to be a business partner and trusted advisor. He is an avid boxing fan and has some experience representing professional boxers on contractual matters.
