By Joe Koizumi
By any coincidence this reporter happened to begin summarizing data of our Japanese boxing fraternity for last four years from 2008 on the first anniversary of the unforgettably horrible earthquake and tsunami that miserably killed some 20,000 people. Yours truly, on behalf of our boxing world, hereby express our great thanks for your warm support to our sorrowful victims after the disaster.
Viewing a table attached downstairs, we realize that our licensed professional boxers are decreasing year after year since 2008. We had 2,820 boxers licensed by the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) in 2008, but the number is reducing to 2,670, 2,633 and 2,538. We, however, still have more than 2,500 boxers licensed so that they actively fight in the paid ranks. Some 150 foreign boxers from Asia (Thailand, Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, etc.) and other countries (Mexico, Venezuela etc.) have been licensed by our commission for international matchups every year.
The number of promotions here in Japan is also decreasing from 276 for 2008 to 221 for 2011. We, however, cannot deny a negative effect of the said disaster to our boxing promotions. As a French philosopher named Voltaire said, “Il faut cultiver (It’s necessary to work),” our general people had to re-establish their own economy by saving money for the future rather than coming to see boxing games. We have approximately one hundred promoters registered by the JBC, but some have become less active with our economic recession. In the boxing industry here we realize “bipolarization” where the influential become richer and the less active poorer. It becomes harder to sell and distribute tickets to general customers chiefly because of our stagnant economy and dog-eat-dog competition because of too many small promotions. But our aficionados still come and see good competitive cards by severely assessing money’s worth.
It might be still surprising that we usually have more than 220 promotions in 365 days a year, even though the number of boxing shows is gradually decreasing 276, 260, 233 to 221. It means that we have seen more than four shows a week—somewhere (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Kobe, etc.) in Japan. The majority of boxing bouts are held in the capital Tokyo, the population of which is some 12 million that is about ten percent of our total population. The population density of Tokyo might be a source of customers that purchase tickets from our impresarios. It may be extremely hard to welcome a big crowd to a world title bout in a local city, so world title bouts usually take place in such big cities as Tokyo or Osaka. That’s a sort of “centralization.”
As for promotions held in the capital Tokyo, our impresarios usually stage their shows at the Korakuen Hall, the capacity of which is approximately 2,000 (1,600 seats and some 400 SRO). We see at least two shows a week at the Hall. The commissioner of the JBC, Mr. Yuko Hayashi is also the president of Tokyo Dome Co. Ltd. that is the owner of the Korakuen Hall, the Tokyo Dome (baseball indoor stadium), Tokyo Dome hotel and other facilities. Our promoters are granted good discount rates in using the Hall by the Tokyo Dome Co. Ltd. We remember the Tokyo Dome (whose capacity is some 50,000) was used for boxing events—only twice—when Mike Tyson fought Tony Tubbs in 1988 and James Buster Douglas in 1990. It is practically hard now for a boxing show to gather no less than 50,000 thousand people again at the Dome.
Recession is a worldwide inclination. Being worried about our future economy, our fight fans haven’t come to see boxing games so often as previously since tickets are still expensive for them. Our customers are forced to watch even world title bouts on television with some shown on delayed basis. Our promoters are always struggling to sell and distribute tickets despite competitive matchups of name boxers. They complain of our shrinking market, but we have to carefully study the process of cultivating boxing fans.
Without an egg there won’t be a chicken. Young prospects won’t abruptly become shining superstars. Amateur spectators won’t be hardcore customers in one night. It may be a chicken-and-egg problem that we continually have to produce champions as well as customers. The prospects steadily keep fighting so that their real power and popularity become greater as their career progresses. We also have to keep enlightening less mature fans for the sake of the boxing industry’s future. Therefore, we must make boxing more attractive to the younger generation, or otherwise boxing might decay in the distant future. It is not a matter only in Japan but also in the world—the whole boxing world.
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/statistics-of-japans-boxing-industry-110600
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