THERE was a step in the right direction for amateur boxing (England Boxing) recently with BBC iPlayer streaming the national stages of the Senior Elite Championships, that were recently staged in Nottingham and Manchester. This isn’t the first time that amateur boxing has been streamed – YouTube has been the platform for various other events from across the world for a few years now. Apart from the major international boxing events, such as the Olympics, I cannot recall amateur boxing being on television often in recent years, besides London Live’s efforts back in 2015, which included the London ABA Elite finals, an all-female show at the TA Centre in Grove Park and the Haringey Box Cup. It’s important for the hopeful future stars of boxing to gain exposure while they are boxing with vests on. Even if they don’t become the next household name or turn professional, then at least they’ve had their 12 minutes of fame! I have paid to watch streams in the past, such as the Golden Girls Box Cup, which is held annually in Sweden.
This cost approximately £15-£20 for the three-day event, so to get the streaming on iPlayer and YouTube for free is a bonus. However, this could lead to major events in the boxing calendar, such as the Senior Elite Championships, suffering with lower-than-hoped-for numbers of paying punters coming through the door. It’s not often you get people going to boxing shows nowadays, watching the event from start to finish. Most of the time, they come to watch one person and then quickly disappear afterwards, once he or she has boxed. Nothing beats being at a sporting event live, regardless of the level. The BBC can only improve the quality of the broadcast, and who knows, amateur boxing could be back on terrestrial television in the future, or the BBC may even choose to stream other championships (Schools, Juniors, Youths, NABGCs, Development Novices etc).
Islington Boxing Club