Five things that local boxing promoters should learn from ONE FC

The recently-concluded ONE FC: Pride of a Nation fight card took the Philippines by storm. The August 31 production of the mixed martial arts event was something the country rarely sees, especially in sports. ONE FC gave the Filipinos a taste of world class sports promotion and hopefully local outfits will follow suit and step their game up. In an interview with Reuters’ Peter Rutherford, ONE FC CEO Victor Cui felt that the fall of boxing is largely because of its old-school approach. “Manny Pacquiao walks on water here, but the days of people buying tickets and being happy just to see two people fight are long gone,” Cui said. “Where MMA has succeeded is recognizing the overlap between sport and entertainment. “Whether it’s MMA or the Olympics or football, you have to entertain and sports that don’t do that are going to wither and die.” Boxing still tops MMA in the pecking order here in the Philippines, but the margin is slowly shrinking. Here are five things that local boxing promoters could learn from ONE FC’s production that can help the sweet science stay relevant. 1. Match-making – This is one facet of the fight game that promoters often overlook. They’ll make sure that the main and co-main event are both good fights, then forget about the undercard. Filipino matchmakers need to spend more time crafting their fight cards. Don’t sign-up fights just to pad the card, make sure that every fight has purpose. In ONE FC’s event, the arena was packed from the very first fight. Eight of the 11 fights on the card ended in stoppage, which speaks volumes. All of the fights were exciting and the crowd was appreciative of the effort put in by the match-makers throughout the night. It’s understandable that some promoters would want to pad the records of their fighters, but there’s a way of doing this that can still be exciting. 2. Over the top excitement – This factor is connected with the first one, because it’s very hard to be excited about a horrible boxing match-up. In ONE FC’s event, the crowd was hyped from the very start. Even before a single punch was thrown, the fighters entered the arena carrying their country’s flags, something that was followed by a crowd-wowing display of pyrotechnics. Aside from the crowd getting pumped, it’s important too that every single person involved in the match show their excitement as well. This is why the combination of Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg has worked for the UFC. Those two can make you feel excited in the first few seconds of the night’s first fight. 3. Invest in the fighters’ stories – Local boxing promoters should also try their best to promote the fighters, not just the fights. Fans will gravitate towards the fighters more if they know their backstory. This is why HBO’s 24/7 series has been so successful. ONE FC did this by coming up with short features about the fighters just before they were introduced. Yes, this will be an additional expense, but it should serve its purpose both in the short and long-run. 4. Eye candy – If people spend their hard-earned money to be at one of your events, you better make sure that they go home satisfied. ONE FC featured a giant backdrop with huge images of the fighters. There were also giant photo walls scattered outside the venue. The Smart-Araneta Coliseum that night actually looked like a venue for a concert and not a fight card. Even Manny Pacquiao’s fight against Oscar Larios in the same arena could not compare with the way ONE FC dressed up the arena. The fighter introductions were also pleasant to the eyes as well as the ears, with former Pride FC announcer Lenne Hardt lending her voice to the event. The walk-ins of fighters have also been largely forgotten in boxing. They walk in to generic rock music with no additional drama to add to the excitement. ONE FC has paid attention to this as they crafted their fighters’ walk-ins to be similar to what the WWE does.   5. Clinical precision – The precision that the staff displayed in the event was amazing. All staff members had designated roles which they performed to the hilt. From the referees helping wipe the mat and the cage, to the people ushering the fighters and their teams in and out of the cage, to the timing of the interviews and the walk-ins; everything went smoothly. Boxing promoters need to stop thinking that all they have to do is make the fighters box, and focus as well on all the little things that comprise a fight. - AMD/OMG, GMA News