Whatโs your feelings on the current climate and the state of British boxing right now?
As a sport, I think weโve done very well. You might say Iโm bound to say that, but I know the amount of work that has gone in with the meetings and consultations with the doctors etc. It hasnโt been easy, itโs been very challenging but weโre up and running and the shows have been good on the whole. It bodes well as we move forward. The government have now put out new guidelines in regards to the amount of people who can gather, so weโll have to see how that affects the whole of sport in general. But boxing has dealt with everything very, very well.
Are behind closed doors events the new future given the current headlines?
I think it possibly is, yes. I was hopeful weโd have some sort of crowds by the end of October or November but now itโs possible there wonโt be any crowds until the end of the year. I have further meetings in the next week where all of this will be discussed but I remain hopeful that weโll be able to get people into venues.
Give us an idea of the work that went in behind the scenes to get us into a position where shows could be put on the first place.
The big question at the beginning was: Are we ever going to get boxing up and running again under these circumstances? Of all the sports there is, there is an argument to say that boxing should not be up and running because of the nature of the sport. Outside of the sport, a lot of people came up to me and said that. I think the procedures we put in, in regards to the testing and the isolation, and the hard work of the promoters โ everyone, on the whole, has worked really well together โ Iโm pleased with the way we have dealt with the problems. Weโre a major sport and weโve all realised that sport, sport as a whole, is good for the nation and boxing is good for our supporters. We have to keep it going. Weโve got to make it worthwhile in regard to the contests taking place, weโve got to make sure that people want to watch it.
There are different factions in boxing but has there been a coming together of minds to get this going for the good of the sport?
In the beginning I wrote to all promoters who had indicated they wanted to promote. Now some of our promoters havenโt been able to promote, and I fully respect that, and I had several conversations advising certain promoters that they shouldnโt promote. Some have said I havenโt been very supportive in that regard but I want people to be able to promote in the future and not lose all their money now because itโs a very expensive process at the moment. But I did speak to all promoters, said we shouldnโt have many clashes in dates and I think we only had one clash in the first 16 dates; in boxing, thatโs quite remarkable. Promoters have taken on board the need not to compete against each other, which is very important.
What do you say to the small hall promoters who cannot stage events and to fans who are looking at that side of the sport with understandable concern?
There is a concern. Weโre a sport but weโre also a business. The promoters have to decide whether they can afford to run a show or not. Itโs not for me to tell them how to run their business, itโs my job to regulate the sport. But I do think in certain circumstances it would be financial suicide for some promoters to promote at the moment. Theyโve got to understand that. The one criticism weโve had is that weโre looking after the โbig boysโ. I donโt think thatโs the case but they are the people who can afford to stage shows because they have a TV deal. Without a TV deal, itโs very difficult. As I said at the very beginning, if you run your business correctly, then youโll survive, if you donโt you wonโt. Thatโs not just boxing, thatโs every business.
With that in mind, what are the financial implications for the British Boxing Board of Control if this situation continues into the new year?
Well, huge. We take our funds from tournament tax and licence fees etc so we need boxing to be running. At the present time, weโve got money coming in from the shows but theyโre greatly reduced. Iโm mindful that if weโre in this position in March, April, May then I think the whole sport has an issue. I donโt think we will be, Iโm positive we can get over this, because I think itโs something the world has to cope with. Weโve got to find ways of living with it and Iโm sure we will. Within boxing, we have some very clever people who can do that. But yes, as an organisation, our finances are being hit big time just like the promoters โ if theyโre not making any money, weโre not making any money. Thatโs how it is at the present time.
Itโs often presumed that the Board is a huge empire with hundreds of people at your disposal in the office. Tell us the reality.
At the moment we have a number of people on furlough. We have people working at home. The reality is the office employs 10 people and one part-time accountant so itโs not a big organisation when you compare it something like the Football Association, rugby and cricket. Weโre relatively small and we rely on volunteers all the time. Weโve just moved offices to a larger premises which is really bad timing, as you can imagine, and we have most people working at home because the office isnโt what you would classify as Covid-friendly. We have Board meetings with only five people present in the room because thatโs all we can do. Itโs affecting us.
Are plans already in place to get fans into the venues should the green light be given?
Yes, discussions have taken place. I have written to the government in that regard and so have the promoters. That has to be the next step. Weโre very keen for that happen. We got boxing going and some people said we couldnโt do that but we did, with everybodyโs help. Now we have to get people into the venue and some will say we canโt, but we will. I donโt know when we will, but we will. You have to be positive on these things. Thereโs no point moping around โ if you werenโt positive in boxing you might as well go home and lie in bed and ask for a cup of tea every now and again. I am positive. We will get it done. I have faith in the promoters โ we have some of the best promoters in the world here. Once we get up and running, the other promoters can do so as well. I donโt want to put a dampener on it, there are some promoters who will not promote again, thatโs business.
There was some criticism surrounding Italian referee Giuseppe Quartaroneโs handling of the recent Samir Ziani-Alex Dilamaghani bout. When a European official is appointed for a EBU title fight in the UK whatโs the process?
We look at the officialโs record. We know Mr Quartarone, heโs been here before and never caused a huge amount of concern. It was a very tough fight, a very good fight. I think referees get blamed a great deal for stopping fights too early or too late. Itโs easy to do that. Boxers do have corners. They can be pulled out by the corner too โ itโs easy to blame everybody bar the people around them. We look at their performance, what theyโve done and if weโre not happy then they wonโt come back again. There have been individuals who we have said we donโt want back and weโve communicated that to the sanctioning bodies. The same with judges, we have the ultimate power in regard to that.
Did you see anything in that last round that concerned you to the extent that Quartarone wonโt be able to officiate in this country again?
I will look at it again. It was a cracking contest and you have to give the fighters the opportunity to get through it. I donโt think it was that bad from first viewing, it was satisfactory. My colleague Dennis Gilmartin was there, he didnโt think too much of it, it was a tough, tough European title fight. But we will look at it again. We always do.
You will not allow officials to speak to the media and justify their decisions directly after a contest. Why is that?
Their performance might be poor and we may have a complaint from one of the parties. We may have to have a hearing. Before that hearing, we donโt want it all bandied around. We want to hear it from the horseโs mouth in the formal hearing process. It is done properly and everyone is given the opportunity to give their side of the story. Also, I donโt think they need to justify themselves to anyone other than us, the Board. Weโre the people who licence them and if weโre unhappy we will deal with it. We have downgraded referees, we have stopped people from being upgraded. Even though we donโt stand on a mountain and sing about it, we do these things. Iโm not a big believer in telling everyone our business and how we run things. We run things as best we can. There will always be criticism. I understand that and I have no problem with that. I can live with it.
As a counter argument to that, we do live in an age now where being seen to do the right thing is almost more important than actually doing it. Itโs important that you are seen to explain yourselves as an organisation.
As an organisation, yes. Iโm happy to be the voice of the Board and explain things. But for the life of me I canโt see why a referee has to justify their position just to get slaughtered on social media. I think what people put on social media is sometimes disgusting. I donโt need that. Our officials donโt need that. So I donโt think we need to justify to people whoโve just come back from the pub on a Saturday night who are on social media complaining about a result. I donโt mind talking to people who understand boxing but I have no time for people who have no idea what theyโre talking about. Also, if a referee didnโt want to talk to the media then immediately theyโre guilty. Not everyone wants to talk, referees are individuals and theyโre all different. If we have one rule for all of them itโs nice and simple.
To listen to the full interview with Robert Smith download the latest Boxing News podcast, The Opening Bell. Also discussed was Canelo vs DAZN and reflections from David Haye on the fight that changed his life. Available on all podcast platforms (like Apple, Spotify, Amazon etc) or listen directly from our website. A new episode is available every Thursday morning and itโs completely free to listen to.