As a boxing fan have you ever wondered what the role of a promotor actually is. Ok you see them sitting ringside on fight night and been part of the post fight interview, but what do they do on a day to day basis.
It is a promotors job to organise everything to do with a night of boxing and when I say everything I do mean everything it is the promotors job to book and pay for everything. It is important to remember that a promotor is not a manager I will look at the difference between the two later. The promotors first job is to organise the venue right down to the number of seats the show will need, as well as all the food and drinks that the fans will buy on fight night. It is also the promotors job to sort out how many fights there will be on the bill, and making sure that all the fighter licenses and medical are up to date before they fight. The promotor is also responsible for organising the ring itself and all the officials that are needed to put on the show. So for example let say there’s a fight for the world title on the bill it is the promotors job to get the fight sanctioned not only by the board of control of the Athletic commission depending on the country which all fights have to be. He would also have to get the fight sanctioned by the governing body who’s responsible for that title eg IBF. The promotor is also responsible for making sure that all the right medical personnel are at ringside on fight night.
The promotor is also responsible for the weigh in it is his responsibility to make sure that the scales that are been used have been calibrated correctly.
Of course we all know that a promotors main job is to sell the fight because it’s no good him doing all this work if no one is going to be there to watch it. This is done in a number of different ways TV adverts, posters, and press conferences. This is all done to get the public as a whole interested in the fight. One of the biggest tools a promotor will use to sell a fight in this day and age is social media, I think this is because they know everyone uses some form of social media and it is a cheap and affected way of reaching as wide an audience as possible
So I bet at this point your thinking well what’s the difference between a promotor and a manager. A promotors duty is to make as much money as they can for themselves as they are putting up all the money to put on the show he has no responsibility to make the fighter money, which is why we sometimes read about boxers going bankrupt despite having a great career in the ring. A manager’s job is to look after the fighter’s interest to make sure that the fighter can make as much money as possible every time he fights. This is why the most successful fighters have a good promotor because it has been said what’s the difference between a great fighter and a household name and that is a good promotor. They also have a good management team to make sure they are secure outside the ring. However I also think this’s why some fights don’t or can’t get made, because the promotor and the manager can’t agree and the purse split.
I hope this post has helped you understand the role of a promotor, and don’t forget to comment below and let me no your thoughts.
Great blog never really thought much about what a promoter does, but really ln prest keep up the good work.