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A Conversation with Jill Diamond
by Bernie McCoy
February 25, 2007

     
   
   
   
   

Possessing passion is, in many ways, a lot like having a sense of humor. Ask someone if they have a sense of humor and, inevitably, the answer is "of course." In reality very few people really do, particularly when it comes to laughing at themselves. Similarly, question anyone if they have passion in their souls and quickly comes the identical "of course" reply. But, in point of fact, those with a true, burning, look-you-straight-in-the-eye passion are rare, indeed. Paraphrasing Justice Potter Stewart, passion is difficult to define, but you know it when you see it. I saw it last week when I sat down with Jill Diamond for a lengthy discussion of her passion for the sport of Women's boxing, at her office in the Flatiron district in New York City.

Jill Diamond is currently in her second year as Chair of the NABF Women's division and, true to her Brooklyn roots, she has very strong, well defined feelings about the sport of Women's boxing and, in particular, how to make it better. And, at the drop of a question, Jill Diamond will be more than glad to share those feelings. "Women's boxing could be the salvation of the entire sport," Diamond declares, with typical brio, "female boxers are more skillful and more plentiful now than at any time in the history of the sport and, as a result, Women's boxing is poised on the verge of success. That success," Diamond continues, "will come when that abundance of talent colludes with a smart marketing approach.

 If you go into any major boxing gym in the country, on any day of the week, what you see is girls, as young as 11 and 12 and also well conditioned female athletes and they're all going about the serious business of learning the sport of boxing.

Women's boxing hasn't come close to peaking yet, it's future, and it could be a big future, is right there in front of everyone in the sport. And, it's about time that instead of the 'token' female fight on boxing cards, there should be two or three bouts featuring talented women boxers, and believe me, there are enough good female fighters for that to happen, it's simply a matter of putting them in the ring."

As with all plans that are a result of a great deal of thought, Jill Diamond's vision for the sport of Women's boxing has a definitive starting point. "It has to start at the amateur level. I feel a fighter's amateur record should be given consideration when it comes to determining her ranking once she turns professional, because, except in the rarest of cases, those fighters that benefit from an amateur experience are simply better trained once they reach the pro ranks.

Now, what I'm saying is that this amateur background should not be an overwhelming factor in a pro fighter's ranking, but, for example, if two female fighters have similar pro records, let's use their amateur backgrounds as a 'tiebreaker' in determining their respective professional ranking. This would, immediately, give greater credence to the amateur ranks and encourage fighters to utilize the amateur programs as a starting point. Such a career path can only result in better and more skillful pro fighters.

Then, of course, there's the issue of the Olympics and the validation that the inclusion of female boxing in the Games would bring to the sport. If Women's boxing got that 'Olympic kiss' it would go a long way towards encouraging those young athletes who need to be in the sport to take that important first step."

Jill Diamond's background in the music business provides an awareness of the critical part television plays in the mix of selling to the public, be it a Motown artist or a female boxer. "Any sport needs television," Diamond concedes, "and it's a tough hill to climb, particularly for the sport of boxing and even more so for the sport of Women's boxing. For whatever reason, aesthetics, cultural history, there is a basic reluctance on the part of television to provide even minimal coverage of the sport of Women's boxing. I know because I've had that very conversation with executives at ESPN, HBO and Showtime.

Sure, a female boxing match, occasionally, gets on the air and when it does, to be honest, the sport has not always put it's best foot forward as far as the bouts that have been presented. I understand all about the politics of the matchmaking and the coverage, but the fact remains, when female boxing gets that rare chance at grabbing the 'TV ring,' it's got to present the sport at it's very best. 'A Ring of Their Own' has made a terrific effort, but, as yet, those fights, and they've been, consistently, among the best in the sport, have yet to be afforded the benefit of 'live' TV. The upcoming Fox Sports telecast (March 22), from Albuquerque, with Holly Holm, Kelsey Jeffries, Ann Marie Saccurato and Rhonda Luna is a step in the right direction and, I hope, just the start."

I raised the tendency of some of the top fighters in the sport to "stick close to home" when scheduling their bouts. Not surprisingly, Diamond views this factor not as a knock but, as an opportunity. "Who cares where are the fights are held, if they're good ones. Holly Holm is wildly popular in Albuquerque, the same with Mary Jo Sanders in Detroit and Jessica Rakoczy in Lemoore, just to mention three. Let those fighters stay in those geographical niches where people flock to see them.

But, and this is a big one, those bouts have to be competitive, it's just not productive to bring in some 'opponent' for the hometown fighter to beat up in front of a sell out crowd. Instead, bring in a good fighter, a competitive fighter, and, believe me, the hometown crowd, who for the most part, are probably boxing fans first, will get their money's worth with a compelling bout. And once compelling, competitive bouts become the norm, rather than the exception, television coverage, 'live' television coverage, is likely to follow. Holly Holm is staying in Albuquerque for her next bout, and she's matched with Ann Marie Saccurato, who's coming off a big win over Jelena Mrdjenovich. That's exactly the type of bout I'm talking about. Do you really believe Fox Sports would be televising Holly Holm against some 3-10 fighter? Not a chance!"

Finally, Diamond turned to the marketing "grease" every sport needs, financial support. "There has to be some marketing savvy company that's smart enough to recognize the potential of Women's boxing, whether it's a Victoria's Secret or a Buzz Cola, some innovative company that is smart enough to see the value of a tie-in with world class female athletes, athletes who are easy to deal with and will, usually, go 'the extra mile' as far as marketing is concerned. Women's boxing will probably never be Women's tennis as far as world wide popularity is concerned, but achieving the level of the WNBA or the LPGA is certainly not impossible."

That may be shooting high, but that's Jill Diamond's DNA. She's made a career, in music and now boxing, of setting the bar high and then figuring out how to exceed it. Want to be convinced that Women's boxing is still a viable sport? Spend some time listening to Jill Diamond, two hours go by like a two minute round. Spend some time absorbing the passion Jill Diamond brings when she talks about this sport and you can't help but consider that maybe, just maybe, the problems that have continued to plague Women's boxing over the recent past can be solved. Not with the business-as-usual approach that has characterized the meandering path the sport has traveled in the past several years, but with more innovative thinking, more sound planning, more passion and more people like Jill Diamond. Bernie McCoy

 

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