Boxing has never had a shortage of big fights. Every era has its marquee showdowns, the nights when the sport stops and the whole world seems to be paying attention. But big fights are not the same thing as a healthy sport. Boxing has always needed a better system for creating the fighters who can deliver those moments. Today, the sport is going through another wave of dramatic commercial change. International investors are pouring serious money into the sport, major events are moving into new markets, and streaming platforms are completely changing how fans watch the action. A CBS Sports analysis recently highlighted just how much the business of boxing is shifting. That kind of growth is exciting, and it is easy to get caught up in the numbers, the rights deals, and the pay-per-view records. But I believe there is a real danger in celebrating that growth without asking a more fundamental question: Who is building the next generation of fighters? The biggest events attract the biggest audiences, but they do not create fighters by themselves. Fighters are developed in gyms, in front of small crowds, through hard regional competition, and by trainers who invest years before there is any guarantee of a return. If boxing wants a sustainable future, those parts of the sport cannot become an afterthought. They have to be at the center of everything.
The industry is increasingly talking about boxing as entertainment, media rights, and global content. Those things matter, and they are part of the modern reality of the sport. But boxing is still a sport, and sports depend on development systems. We should be careful not to confuse a bigger business with a healthier sport. Saudi Arabia, for example, has become an increasingly important destination for major boxing events, with many of the sport’s biggest matchups moving to the country in recent years, according to CBS Sports. At the same time, streaming platforms are creating new ways to distribute fights internationally, with DAZN holding global boxing rights and Paramount+ becoming the exclusive North American home of Zuffa Boxing beginning in 2026. These are significant changes, and they bring new opportunities. But money at the top does not automatically translate into strength at the bottom. A fighter’s career does not begin when millions of people watch them walk into an arena. It begins years earlier, often when almost nobody is watching. It begins in a local gym, with a kid who decides to show up, and a coach who decides to believe in them. That is where the real foundation of the sport is built, and no amount of streaming revenue or international investment can replace it. If we ignore that foundation, we are building a house on sand. The commercial growth is real, but it needs to be connected to something deeper.
It all starts in the gym. That is where fighters learn how to train when they do not feel like training. It is where they learn to lose without quitting, to listen to a coach, to manage pressure, and to understand that talent without discipline is not enough. I have spent decades in boxing, and I have seen repeatedly that the relationships built before success are often more important than the attention that comes after it. My own connection to the sport began through King’s Gym in Reading, Pennsylvania. The name stands for Kids In Need of Guidance, and that philosophy has always been important to me. Boxing is the vehicle, but the purpose can be much bigger than winning fights. A gym can give a young person somewhere to go. It can provide structure, mentorship, and accountability. It can introduce discipline to someone who may not have experienced much of it elsewhere. We should not underestimate the value of that. Not every young person who walks into a boxing gym will become a professional fighter. That does not mean the investment was unsuccessful. In fact, I would argue that one of boxing’s greatest contributions is what happens to the people who never make it to the professional level. The sport teaches lessons that last a lifetime, and the gym becomes a second home. That is something that cannot be measured in pay-per-view numbers or broadcast ratings.
Providing a sense of purpose is often the most important thing boxing can do. My transition into professional promotion came in 1994, when a fighter I believed in was struggling to find an opportunity. Instead of waiting for somebody else to create one, I organized an event myself. That experience taught me something that has stayed with me throughout my career: sometimes opportunity does not exist until somebody decides to create it. That principle is particularly important in the current boxing environment. As major promoters, investors, and broadcasters compete for the biggest names, there is a risk that fighters who are still developing become less commercially attractive. They may not have a large following. They may not generate immediate returns. They may not fit neatly into an international event. That does not mean they lack potential. It means somebody has to be willing to develop them. This is where regional boxing matters. Local promoters and smaller venues cannot compete financially with the largest international events, and they should not try to. Their value is different. They provide fighters with the repetition and experience required to become professionals. A prospect needs rounds. They need different opponents. They need to learn how to fight when the plan does not work. They need to experience the nerves of walking into an unfamiliar venue and the disappointment of a difficult performance. You cannot manufacture that experience simply by putting a young fighter on a major card. It takes time, patience, and a real commitment to development.
The same is true of trainers. A good trainer does much more than teach someone how to throw a punch. Trainers help fighters understand their strengths and weaknesses, manage setbacks, and develop the discipline required for a long career. Yet trainers working in local gyms rarely receive the same attention as the fighters they help create. The business of boxing should recognize that value. Promoters, sponsors, and organizations that want to benefit from the sport’s next commercial boom should have an interest in strengthening the development system beneath it. Supporting gyms and regional events should not be viewed simply as charity or community investment. It is an investment in the future talent pool. There is also a responsibility to the communities that have kept boxing alive. Boxing gyms have historically served places where other institutions have struggled to reach young people. They create environments where discipline and accountability are expected. They give young people access to mentors and peers who understand the challenges they face. If those gyms disappear because the economics no longer work, the sport loses more than future professionals. It loses part of its foundation. I do not believe boxing has to choose between commercial growth and grassroots development. The sport needs both. We should welcome new investment. We should embrace international events. We should take advantage of streaming and new distribution models. More money and more fans can create opportunities that did not exist before.
But the industry should also ask where that money is going and whether enough of it is reaching the systems responsible for developing fighters. Because there is a simple truth that gets lost when we focus too heavily on the biggest events: you cannot have a great main event without somebody developing the fighters who eventually become its headliners. Boxing’s next era should therefore be measured by more than pay-per-view numbers, streaming audiences, or the size of international events. It should also be measured by the health of its gyms, the opportunities available to young fighters, the strength of its regional circuits, and the number of people willing to invest in athletes before they become stars. The biggest fights will always matter. But if boxing wants those moments to keep coming, the industry needs to invest in what comes before them: the gyms, trainers, promoters, and young fighters building the sport from the ground up. If we want bigger fights tomorrow, we need to build better foundations today. That means making sure the sport’s growth reaches every level, from the biggest arena to the smallest neighborhood gym. It means valuing the coaches who work without recognition and the local promoters who give young fighters their first chance. It means remembering that every champion was once a beginner, and every beginner needs someone who believes in them. The commercial future of boxing is bright, but only if we remember where the sport truly comes from. The fighters of tomorrow are already out there, walking into gyms and lacing up their gloves for the first time. They need us to pay attention, not just to the sport’s biggest nights, but to the quiet, everyday work that makes those nights possible. That is how we build the next generation. That is how we secure the future of boxing.
