TRUST me, chewing cabbage twice is not really my kind of style but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a swipe at local boxing promoters, who have fallen into the annoying habit of wanting to use the media as a battlefield to settle their personal grievances.
As many would agree or disagree, which really does not matter that much to me, many local boxing promoters have fallen into the distasteful pattern of wanting to discredit other promoters’ events or boxers whenever they host press conferences. We as sports journalists are finding this very boring and childish, and I say these shameful brouhahas within the local boxing corridors should not go unchallenged. When there is infighting among boxing promoters the boxers suffer the most and so do boxing fans.
As a young journalist I believe there is enough room for everyone involved in the sport to earn a decent living from boxing, given that the sport is slowly taking over as the number one sports code in the country as witnessed by the recent huge attendances, but to my surprise, some of these promoters seem to be afflicted with a disorder called “greed and selfishness”.
Many of these self-styled promoters or perchance just masquerading as boxing promoters and their sidekicks have been operating within a moribund culture and would many a time go out of their way just to divert the media’s role of informing us about side-track personal issues as if we are mediators in personal disputes.
What scares me the most is that many of these promoters appear to have taken their eyes off the ring and seem busy smoking their socks. Please pardon me, before you start accusing me of anything, understand what I’m trying to convey is the simple message that promoters who are responsible for running the fast improving sport of boxing in the land of the brave need a reality check.
Now is the perfect time to roll up their sleeves and make sure boxing is a pleasant environment for each and everybody. – Eewa!
By Otniel Hembapu