THANKS TO OUR YOUNG ONES THE FUTURE OF BRITISH BOXING IS IN SAFE HANDS

By Frank Warren

Floyd Mayweather jnr describes Gervonta Davis as the future of boxing – and he might just be right in that – but the future of British boxing also happens to be in safe and devastatingly quick hands.

Anthony Yarde and Daniel Dubois are the big future of the game in this country and there were two other fighters in the Copper Box audience on Saturday – Zelfa Barrett and Lyon Woodstock – who are also going to thrill fight fans as their careers progress further.

We have grown BoxNation, not only for ourselves, but also for the good of boxing. We are now at a point where I firmly believe we have the future big stars of British boxing on our books, the best young talent out there.

It is all about Tomorrow’s Men.

Of course, I am just talking about our young fighters here – and there are many more I could bang the drum for – because we also have a multitude of other fighters who already hold belts or soon will do.

I do believe boxing people have been well catered for by the coverage on BT and BoxNation of our promotions over the last couple of months. The fans at the venues certainly seem to be enjoying what they are seeing and it was noticeable at the Copper Box just how early the seats were occupied.

There has been a pleasing amount of plaudits flying about over the quality and entertainment value of our opening four fight nights, which is particularly satisfying because we are in the business of delivering for the fans.

As a package, the undercards and the main events have been everything we hoped they would be and, although we were disappointed for Liam Walsh on Saturday, the viewers at home and the fans in an arena – one that is ideal for boxing – got to see a big star of the future up close.

Our spring schedule is now complete and we have a few weeks to regroup and return even better. This is just the beginning though and I fully anticipate everything going from strength to strength as our richly talented young fighters take more significant steps in the coming months and years.

We have worked hard to reach this point and, looking back, when we launched BoxNation some six years ago it was a big call for us with the financial resources required to get it off the ground and then sustain it.

With the big appeal Sky held for boxers, with a bigger platform and pay-per-view potential, it was hard for us to compete, but we did.

The deal with BT obviously puts us in a much stronger position, while also boosting the exposure for our boxers. At the same time, BoxNation also continues to deliver the best fights from around the world, making the channel a real one-stop shop for boxing fans.

The fans come first in my book because they are the ones that make it all happen – for the boxers, us and the broadcasters.
We are obviously looking to satisfy genuine followers of the sport, but we are also looking to attract people to the game, or back to it in a lot of cases.

It is important because you can’t simply stand still. The Anthony Joshuas of this world, your Frank Brunos – the way they maximised themselves was by becoming crossover stars and I’ve got no problem with that.

If new people come along and like what they see, they too could become converted and become regular boxing fans. That can only be good for everyone concerned.

More from Frank tomorrow on how Billy Joe will get shirty with shorty