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
#
# #
#
For Online IWBHF Tickets for
Next Event!
Check Our Next Annual International
Women's Boxing Hall of Fame Event that we have to celebrate hour IWBHF
Inductees and Special Award Recipients!
Next Event, Go Here!
Our Online
WBAN/IWBHF Online Store
Proceeds from the Online Store is to
continue our mission to support the INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S BOXING HALL OF
FAME. The Official collection includes IWBHF and WBAN Merchandise and
Memorabilia from the WBAN Boxing Collection. We will continue to list
items from the collection and merchandise.
