ON the surface, The Land of Make Believe by Bucks Fizz is a fluffy, catchy, melodic 80s pop song of very little meaning. But in reality, it is an anti-Thatcher protest song. The deeper meaning of Peter Sinfield’s lyrics was hiding in plain sight.
Bucks Fizz were hardly known for political statements. In 1981, and two years into that horrific Tory regime of mass unemployment and managed decline, Sinfield let loose. A well-hidden message of illusion and manipulation. The single became the biggest-selling single Bucks Fizz ever had. But how many knew the real meaning of those lyrics?
Illusion and manipulation are very much a part of boxing. It’s never really been free from the unsavoury and more. The Mafia and mob links back in another time. Only recently, the Daniel Kinahan episode was another shameless chapter.
A time when too many with high influence turned a blind eye and tried to plead ignorance, or repeatedly tried to defend the indefensible. Only a series of US arrest warrants made many, probably somewhat reluctantly, move on, hoping everyone forgets their previous stance on Kinahan.
But almost immediately, the influence of the Saudi millions, carefully selected words, endless cheerleading, and a large dose of sportswashing would, of course, significantly soften the blow.
The riches and glamour of Riyadh Season, and admittedly, some very good fights, do somewhat mask the reality of where boxing as a whole is right now. There is that illusion that everything is rosy in the boxing garden, when it undoubtedly is anything but.
There are obvious exceptions, but boxing is increasingly becoming a niche sport. A relatively expensive offering that often doesn’t offer value for money. Large TV networks are falling by the wayside. ESPN, HBO, Showtime, TNT Sports, and even Sky Sports have either left the sport behind completely or are currently in a state of limbo.
DAZN is admittedly investing significantly into boxing, albeit with a concerning balance sheet and a restricted audience, restricted even further by an endless number of unnecessary PPV offerings. How can you grow a sport if so few people see it? Outside of our little boxing bubble and the ever-declining hardcore fan base, where will the new fans come from? Short-term gain. Long-term pain.
But even when we do see it, the sport has this unhealthy obsession with title fights. When did just watching a good fight go out of fashion? We live in a four-belt era, which is still more than a few baubles too many. There are, however, a multitude of lesser-regarded sanctioning bodies trying to offer up so-called ‘world’ title fights.
Even the big four just serve up nonsensical rankings and an avalanche of belts with ever-reducing meaning. Global, Gold, Silver, Interim, International, Interim, Regular, where does it end? In truth, it should never have started. Sanctioning fees far outweigh the need for credibility, it seems. World titles should mean everything. In many respects, they now mean very little.
The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act is designed to protect the rights and welfare of the fighters who are the backbone of the sport. But now, a revised version, the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, looks increasingly likely to pass through US Congress.
Will fighters benefit? Or will a new promotional entity benefit more with the creation of their own incoming UFC-style boxing league? A league that will throw up even more trinkets of little meaning. You don’t have to be that cynical to find an answer to those questions.
Francisco Rodriguez is the latest fighter to fail a drug test and avoid any real punishment. The WBC have put the Mexican on some kind of 12-month probation period. There is no ban. No suspension, only the financial reward of a possible rematch.
Spare a thought for Galal Yafai. An innocent victim who has almost certainly lost a piece of himself at the hands of a fighter who took away so much in June. Yafai might never be the same fighter again. The damage he undoubtedly received from Rodriguez can never be eradicated.
Yafai is another victim of a broken system. A system that, even without loopholes and jurisdiction issues, fails to work. Rodriguez, still, courtesy of the British Boxing Board of Control, might yet serve some kind of suspension if the legalities don’t again get in the way. But over and over, many just shake their heads and think: What is the actual point? Why even bother in the first place?
Bucks Fizz followed up The Land of Make Believe with My Camera Never Lies, incidentally the band’s last UK number one single if you want a bit of useless pop trivia. Both song titles with different lyrics, of course, could have been written about boxing.
In boxing, the camera often lies. Certain media outlets become a mouthpiece for their favourite promoter. The words flow unchallenged and unchecked. But maybe that epitomises everything about our sport. You just repeatedly have to keep selling a lie. The land of make-believe indeed.
