This article has been written by Nikhil Pandit, pursuing a Diploma in Advanced Contract Drafting, Negotiation, and Dispute Resolution from LawSikho.

Introduction

Boxing is a great sport and is watched and enjoyed all around the globe but to be successful and to gain popularity it has to meet some social criteria like it has to be entertaining, the atmosphere has to be great like other sports and all the other factors associated in making a Friday night memorable for boxing fans. This is where the job of a boxing promoter comes in.

A boxing promoter is somewhat like an event organizer, although the dynamics of both are very different. A boxing promoter is associated with finding good talents in the city, ramping up them against each other, keeping in mind the interests of the fans, marketing about the boxing match, and broadcasting and selling the match as much as possible. This is not an easy task at all. The venue that the promoter has to rent for the venue might be costly and many other such things. All the costs from setting up two good boxers, renting the venue, and marketing as much as possible are incurred by the boxing promoter. For this, he/she has to often pitch a lot of investors into this and convince them of the returns which are considered to be an unorthodox way of investing boxing promoter gets paid in return. It is important to note that it is not the job of the boxing promoter to train or manage the boxer. A manager and a boxing promoter are two entirely different individuals. A manager’s goal is to look out for a boxing promoter’s personal growth and career whereas a promoter’s job is to only look for his own profit and interests. Some may have an actual interest in a boxer’s career but that is not seen often. To bring all of the above things into effect the promoter for his safety and guarantee signs a contract, big boxing promoters usually get to sign the contract, unlike financially weak boxing promoters.

Situations to check while signing a contract with the promoter

1) License 

One of the foremost things to keep in mind is that if you are a boxer then either you might be just beginning your career or a famous boxer who might be unrepresented. In both cases, there are chances that the promoter will have an upper hand in negotiating the deal with the boxer. The promoter might make you sign exclusive licensing rights or the term of the agreement may be extremely lengthy with no option to terminate given to the boxer. This can be disastrous. It is better to have a moderate-term for the agreement because if the boxer is not satisfied with the matches he is getting and his opponents the promoter is fixing it will not only hinder his popularity but also his career. So the duration of the contract should be kept in mind while drafting the agreement. 

2) Rights of the promoter

The next thing is what will be the rights of the boxer and promoter in selecting the opponent. It is the job of the promoter to do all the job related to it but is the boxer also entitled to have a say in this? Generally, no, the promoter would like to have minimal interference in this area by the boxer as this is the expertise of the promoter and therefore the boxer should try to negotiate with the promoter by doing due diligence about his history and how his clients(boxers) have progressed in their careers.  

3) Broadcasting rights

Another important thing to keep in mind while drafting the contract is the broadcasting rights. A few years ago people would gather in huge numbers near the ring to cheer for your fav boxer but the scenario has taken a slight change. A large number of people nowadays view mega boxing matches on television due to comfort, time restraints, and other factors. Therefore the boxer and the promoter have to find a network that would gather a huge audience and is also economically feasible. The mega boxing matches are aired in two major ways i.e live telecast or pay-per-view model. The promoter has to find a model for the boxer that gives him the maximum view. In general cases, the television company would like to take the match life but that does not happen due to budget restraints and other boxing complexities. Thus, a pay-per-view model is chosen by the networking company and the promoter for a mega match between the boxers. But this can mean the boxer will get paid less and lesser views as the pay-per-model is subscription-based broadcasting. It is the job of the promoter to convince him that the higher the risks higher the rewards are and somehow prove to him that a similar fight on such a model paid off well ultimately. 

4)Finances

The compensation clause in the contract should be negotiated with the presence of promoter and boxer both. One thing in the interest of the boxer that needs to be implemented is that a boxer should have a right to attend a maximum number of meetings where his presence will have an impact or his financials are impacted. So for example in the above scenario, the boxer should have the right to be present while the promoter negotiates with the television company. With this, the boxer should also have ‘audit rights’ of the boxing promoter wherever the money or he himself the boxing promoter is involved in a transaction. 

5) Governing bodies

Another major stumbling block might be while drafting the contract is the bodies that govern the boxing matches. The major governing bodies of the boxing world are World Boxing Council(WBC), International Boxing Federation(IBF), World Boxing Association(WBA), and World Boxing Organization(WBO). Generally, the odds are if two boxers are going to fight a mega-fight one might have a world championship title. And this might be an issue which the promoter and the boxer need to overcome. The governing bodies here say that to defend that title the boxer has to fight with a boxer selected by the governing body who may or may not be a really tough boxer or of the level to give the defending title a worthy match and good show for the fans. He is often selected by the number of matches he has played. Now, this is really an adverse situation for the fans, boxers, promoters, and the television company as well. The television company would not want to pay in dollars or to give rights for a boring match which if according to the promoter had taken his choice without the interference of the governing body then the match would have been a super hit and all the parties would have benefited from it. But this issue can be resolved in different ways. Either the boxer can give up his title and surrender the fight. This is usually affordable to only big and popular boxers who already have a huge fan base and a title won’t hurt their reputation or career. Another solution might be in the books of the governing body. The governing bodies have a provision in which the boxer and promoter are allowed to exempt from such situations once if they agree to have the mandatory match with the boxer fixed by the organization the next time as mandated by the governing body. This is usually a win situation for both as the promoter and boxer can have the mega match at the time they want and the governing body will charge a hefty sanctioning fee for this mega fight.  The last possible way out is the classic ‘step aside’ move in which the boxer pays the mandatory bout a fee to step aside and not fight him and an agreement is signed between them. 

6) Venue

One last is the venue. This can be handled easily. The venue owner can either ask the promoter to pay an amount upfront as a lump sum consideration and the venue owner will earn revenue through the sale of tickets or vice-versa. Often the solution is between the two extremes and such a model is adopted. But more than this the promoter and the boxer need to have an understanding of the nature of the city, background of the boxer. If the hometown of the boxer is available that would be beneficial to the boxer as well as the promoter and other factors such as the referee and the history of the organizing committee and its fairness are also important while signing a contract.

Conclusion

A promoter looks to make his own purse more and more rich but that sometimes means that the boxer’s career can be jeopardized. To prevent this from happening, the boxer should look out for the pitfalls and above scenarios while dealing with the promoter. A boxer who is just starting his career might not understand the business side of the boxing industry as he is trained just to beat his opposition physically but the boxer also needs to win the matches financially and in order to do this he has to find a good promoter (and of course a lawyer) and negotiate smartly. At last, if the fighters were fairly compensated, the promoter and boxer and third party had a fair business deal and if the public was entertained, it can be said that the event was successful as sports although being an emotion for many people sports is just like any other business. 

References

1) https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/boxing-promoter.html

2) https://www.olshanlaw.com/practices-Boxing-Sports-Law.html

3) https://www.startupbizhub.com/how-do-promoters-make-money-in-boxing.html

Students of Lawsikho courses regularly produce writing assignments and work on practical exercises as a part of their coursework and develop themselves in real-life practical skills.

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