The president of the World Boxing Association arrived in Argentina and among the commitments to be fulfilled, within the KO Drugs activities in Buenos Aires, Gilberto Mendoza made a presentation to the Sports Management university students and the press present at the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE).
The meeting began with a pleasant presentation on what the World Boxing Association is and what functions it fulfills as the regulatory entity of the sport of boxing.
After a historical review of the creation of each regulatory body of the activity, Mr. Mendoza talked about what makes the business of boxing, following the words of the local moderator, Pedro Freire; “Boxing is a sport of appreciation and that is one of the aspects that precisely makes the spectacle of boxing. The business model has part of its roots in this.”
“Boxing as such gives more opportunities to the individual than the UFC because it doesn’t prioritize a brand over an athlete,” Gilberto commented regarding a phrase that was proposed at the show about boxing dying out and Mixed Martial Arts having taken place out of it. “Boxing is still mystical and more popular. That’s why I don’t see UFC as competition”, concluded Gilberto, reinforcing the regulatory structure that each entity, such as the WBA, has on the outside and not as part of the business, but rather focused on the work of controlling that everything is fulfilled within legal and proper sporting framework.
Among the different aspects that influence the economic model of the boxing spectacle, the president of the pioneer entity mentioned the key role that managers and promoters play in order to give visibility and growth to the athletes: ” The passion with which they fight for and present their boxers is key to this”.
Opportunities and challenges for boxing was the theme of the meeting at the Universidad Argentina (UADE). That is why the key role of the media was also part of the conference. Gilberto publicly thanked Pedro Freire as director of the Argentinean channel TyC Sports for always bringing the KO Drugs festival and the activity in general to all of Latin America.
In relation to what the future of boxing will be, a concern shared by a student, Gilberto expressed that “as an organization I must say that we fight against the predatory attitude of some promoters with whom we do not agree, but the sport is constantly changing and growing. As an institution, we are developing and studying different steps to continue improving”.
“We are betting on amateur boxing, on education and that’s why within our educational program, in our academy, we are looking for different courses that help the boxer and every part of the boxing family in the world,” replied the mandatory for the student body.
