The World Series of Boxing

June 10th, 2010

Baseball’s is the most famous, poker’s is one of the most recent ones to gain traction with the viewing public. Now, in September 2010, the “World Series of Boxing” begins throughout the world. What is the “World Series of Boxing”? Well, if all goes according to plan, the World Series of Boxing (hereinafter the “WSB”) will be, according to its official web site, “an annually recurring, global competition featuring franchises in three regional conferences: Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Each region will initially be comprised of FOUR CITY-BASED FRANCHISES, and each franchise will field a SQUAD OF 10 BOXERS across FIVE WEIGHT CLASSES designated by AIBA.” Yes, AIBA, the hand that rocks the cradle of international amateur boxing, along with the international sports marketing agency IMG, is doing its part to bring a team element to professional boxing. But that is not the only twist that the WSB is bringing to professional boxing; the salaried participants in these professional boxing team competitions will not only be select professional boxers who competed in the 2008 Olympics, but also some of the top amateur boxers in the world. However, all of the participating amateurs will retain their eligibility to participate in the Olympics. Thus, if the WSB gains traction, it could eventually result in a sea change in the relationship between amateur and professional boxing. A quick analysis of the current rules concerning Olympic eligibility for professional boxing, and the potential implications of allowing amateur boxers jump between the amateur and professional boxing worlds follows.

What Historically Disqualifies a Boxer from Competing in Amateur Competitions?

Since the dawn of amateur boxing, it has been axiomatic that once a boxer competes in a single professional prizefight, he cannot regain his amateur status and resume competing in amateur competitions. For example, it is a black letter rule of USA Boxing, the governing body of amateur boxing in the United States, that “[p]rofessional boxers and other individuals who have competed as professionals in combat sports, including, but not limited to mixed martial arts, Tough-Man events, kick-boxing, and cage fighting, are prohibited from competing in amateur boxing.” USA Boxing’s rule and others like it have been strictly enforced throughout amateur boxing history. In one of the axiom’s more high profile applications, Ruslan Chagaev, now a top professional heavyweight contender, was stripped of the gold medal he won for Uzbekistan in the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships after it was revealed that he had fought two professional bouts in Chicago only a few months prior.

The WSB, however, opens the door to a limited, yet significant, departure from the historical axiom. AIBA expressly states on its website that “because WSB boxers will continue to compete under AIBA’s umbrella, they will retain their eligibility to represent their countries in the Olympic Games.” The message is that if AIBA will not disqualify WSB participants from the Olympics, the amateur boxer’s home country should not disqualify him either. It should thus come as no surprise that, despite USA Boxing’s above-quoted prohibition, it has openly solicited coaches to lead WSB franchises on its website.

What is the Potential Impact of This Exception on Amateur Boxing?

For its amateur participants, the WSB will provide a new way of transitioning into and/or giving a test run to a professional career without permanently giving up the headgear and the Olympic dream. At the same time, the bodies that govern amateur boxing worldwide will likely have to amend their rules to allow their amateurs to compete in the WSB without compromising their amateur status back home. As for the Olympics themselves, perhaps we will start to see a wave of amateur boxers that, with a dash of seasoning from their participation in the WSB, compete with a more professional style in the Olympics and less like the potentially dreary masters of the Olympic scoring system that many have come to loath.

Is There a Risk That Professionals Will Some Day Overrun Amateurs in Olympic Boxing?

To put it another way, is there a risk that the limited exception created by AIBA could knock out the rule that only amateur boxers can compete in the Olympic Games? The short answer is no, as long as AIBA and the regional governing bodies under its wing continue to maintain the position that their amateur boxers can maintain their amateur status even after they compete in the WSB. What could happen, however, is that some amateur boxers may actually depart from the traditional amateur style as a result of their participation in WSB and potentially be at a disadvantage in the Olympics and other tournaments against amateurs who have stayed loyal to the amateur style and thus the amateur scoring system. Another possibility is that amateurs who test drive professional boxing and find success in the WSB may opt out of the Olympics and other major amateur tournaments and thus deplete amateur boxing of some of its top talent. Still another possibility is that some of the world’s top young talent will have the chance to shine in a whole new setting and be able to demand the riches befitting of a true franchise player for the first time in the history of boxing.

In sum, the WSB, despite the possibility that it can usher in a new era in professional and amateur boxing, might be considered by some as a strike out for the international amateur boxing because of the risk that it will blur the line between amateur and professional boxing. Others, however, may see the WSB as a home run for young talent who may not otherwise have had the opportunity to regularly showcase their potential in such a setting. Wherever one falls as a boxing fan, however, there is no question that in the era of fierce competition by MMA for viewership that a new format for bringing the “sweet science” to the public should be embraced, especially if it allows some the world’s best amateurs to introduce themselves to the world in advance of their Olympic bids.

Paul Stuart Haberman, Esq. is an attorney at the New York law firm of Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach, LLP. He is also a New York State licensed boxing manager and the Chairman of the Sports Law Committee of the New York County Lawyers Association. Paul can be e-mailed at haberman@8countnews.com. ©