Opinion:

Newly-appointed Boxing Commission of Fiji directors should bring a new lease of life to the sport.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports should be commended for getting in the right people who are capable of taking it to another level.

The previous directors should also be commended for their time, sacrifice and commitment for bringing the sport this far.

Boxing is always regarded as a controversial sport in Fiji and it has not been an easy journey for all involved.

For the new directors, there are areas of concern that needs their immediate attention. They must find ways to resolve these issues as they move on These are;

1. Purse Structure

One of the reasons behind the death of the sport is the lack of promoters to promote fights. The reason why promoters are giving up is because of the ridiculous demand by boxers.

There are boxers demanding $10,000 to $15,000 per fight. They are not even drawcards. In countries like Australia or New Zealand, most boxers are paid around $100 to $250 a round.

This will depend on whether it is a title fight or not.

The BCF should put in place a pay structure and boxers who are demanding more than what is in the structure could either be suspended or stripped of their title (if he is a titleholder).

Promoters need to be treated fairly as they also want to make a profit at the end of their promotion.

2. Ratings

We need to rank our boxers in each weight division.

This is to help in the match-making process. It also safeguards boxers in term of injuries which could be fatal.

Also, it prevents boxers from jumping from one weight division to the other for the sake of making money.

This will assist the BCF from sanctioning a programme as they will ensure that all boxers are given a fair chance.

This will put a stop on promoters from signing the same boxers all the time which is the case today.

3. Contract

Boxers need to honour the contract they sign. We have cases of boxers failing to meet the weight they’ve signed for.

Boxers must be made to realise that the contracts they sign is a legal document.

The BCF should put in place tougher penalties to ensure that boxers honour whatever contract they sign.

4. Overseas fights

The BCF should look into this matter. So far this year we’ve had over 20 Fijian boxers losing in either Australia or NZ while only 1 has recently won his fight.

It’s sad because some of our boxers are introduced as Fijian champions when they are not.

Although these boxers have earned good money from their overseas fights, their loss or poor record has tarnished our reputation.

Let’s give our support to Dr Subhash Appana and his fellow directors. Even the inclusion of Fiji Sports Council CEO Litiana Loabuka has boxing fans in the Southern Division excited and they are hopeful of watching programmes to be staged in the capital city once again. This is the way to go.

Edited by  Osea  Bola

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