The death of Queen Elizabeth II led to the cancellation of all British boxing cards. Matt Christie talks to Robert Smith to find out why
There was a mixed reaction when all British boxing cards were canceled last weekend in the wake of the Queen’s death. Many understood the mark of respect, and that is purely what it was, while others were furious that it was the wrong decision.
More than 100 boxers ended up without pay as a result of the cancellation of seven shows. That is a sobering conclusion. It is important to show empathy to everyone affected, including each other’s teams. For people like Claressa Shields, Savannah Marshall, Mikaela Mayer, and Alicia Baumgardner, their purses would have amounted to a large part of what, contextually, is their annual salary. That’s before we consider the stresses of making weight, the long training camps they thought were over and the psychological stress of not fighting when they had been conditioned to. The fact that the card has been tentatively rescheduled for October 15 does not guarantee that it will go ahead, nor that the fighters involved will be in a position to participate in the new date.
It is unlikely that the decision by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBB of C), which was fully supported by Sky Sports and promoters, would have generated so much negativity if the massive O2 bill, intended to showcase women’s boxing from top to bottom. , was not in the forefront of attention. However, wrestlers on the smaller shows should also be considered. Whatever they hoped to win, they didn’t. It is not necessary to explain it here, but the footballers who did not enter the field, for the same reason, would have received what their contract establishes. There is no alternative for boxers if events are canceled under such abnormal circumstances.
Some complained of foul play when Friday’s weigh-in was delayed. It was said that if boxers weighed in and didn’t fight, they would be contractually obligated to pay their wages, but would earn nothing if they didn’t make the scale.
“That’s not true,” Robert Smith of the BBB of C told Boxing News. “If the boxers had weighed in and the fights were canceled afterwards, they would not have been paid under those circumstances. The reason the weigh-ins were postponed is very simple. I had to go to our Cardiff offices on Friday morning to deal with the cancellation of the shows that were going to take place that night, so I was running late to London. I asked for the weigh-in to be delayed for an hour.”
Smith arrived at The O2 at 1:30pm, and after consultations with promoters, Sky Sports and chairman of the board Charlie Giles, the decision was quickly made to postpone the show, simply as a mark of respect. As has been suggested, it had nothing to do with a shortage of security, police, or medical personnel.
“It was really tough,” Smith admitted. “We had to make a decision and we knew it would divide opinion and I respect and understand both sides of the argument. This was a celebration of women’s boxing. For many, it didn’t feel right to host such a celebration while much of the public was clearly in mourning.
“We didn’t make the decision lightly, we knew that if we canceled one show, we had to cancel them all. I have great sympathy for the fighters, their teams and the fans who spent a lot of money to attend.
“I heard someone say that we [The Board] I wouldn’t cancel because it would mean we would lose money. We have all lost a lot of money. But there was much more than money to consider in making our decision.”
It was reported that this was an unprecedented situation. In many ways it was, particularly in the modern age with 24-hour news coverage and social media opinion in overdrive. However, there are examples of boxing bills canceled for similar reasons in the distant past, but never anything as drastic as this one.
King Edward VII died on Friday 6 May 1910, before the formation of the BBB of C. The next day, three shows due to take place in London were cancelled, as were shows in other parts of the country. King George V died on Monday, January 20, 1936. Although some events were cancelled, most survived. The case of King George VI, who died on Wednesday 6 February 1952, is interesting. Football went on as usual the following weekend with crowds obediently paying their respects. Boxing, a sport the King greatly admired, was also unaffected. The shows were held in Liverpool and West Ham the day after his death, while those scheduled for the following weekend went ahead as normal.
In September 2022, it was a different story. There was no government order to cancel sporting events and several, such as cricket and rugby, did not. There should be no doubt that C’s BBB was left with a difficult, almost impossible choice. Face the anger of boxing fans for the decision they ultimately made, or express yourself to criticism from the rest of the country if a sport like boxing goes ahead against a backdrop of national mourning.
Boxers, by and large, understood.
“I can’t praise the fighters enough,” Smith said. “Everyone was very professional and understood why we did what we did. As always, the boxers were a real credit to the sport.”
