A Quick One

On Saturday night, I tuned into Prizefighter and once again thoroughly enjoyed the event. For those who have not seen or heard of it, it is an 8-man boxing competition, starting with quarter-finals running through to the final. It is an abbreviated version of 3 rounds x 3 minutes per fight. What that means is that the boxers give everything they have for nine minutes knowing that they have to win or go home – which makes every round and every fight important, and in turn, highly entertaining.

It effectively is what 20/20 cricket is to a test match basically. A shortened version tailored for television and entertainment. The crowds flock to see it, the atmosphere is excellent, and it makes for fantastic viewing on television.

Last night was the turn of the lighter guys, and it was as fast, frenetic and enjoyable as any of them so far. I now really want to see it move a step forward – being sold to other countries and networks, or for Barry Hearn to draft some foreign guys in. A country v country concept would work a treat here in my view.

Watching that made me wonder of which others sports could be shortened. Consider that in most sports, the longer the duration of the game, the more likely it is that the best players and athletes will prevail, it would level the playing field a fraction more. Imagine a tennis tournament of 16 players for example...perhaps one set per match with a tie-break. It would make for great viewing. Would Nadal and Federer be the best? Probably. Would it give the others a better chance? Definitely.

Take Athletics as another example. How about if we shorten the 100 metres to 10 metres. Would Usain win every time? It is unlikely. Ok, so perhaps I am going a little bit too far with my argument here, but I think there are more possible examples.

Of course, there are plenty of examples out there like 5-a-side football and Futsal, Rugby Sevens etc. The key though is having the top guys in the sport play that that version. That is the only way it would ever really take off in my view. Imagine seeing Real Madrid v Barcelona 5-a-side or Futsal with their top 5 players in the team. I know I would pay to watch it.

I am not advocating changing sports, not for one minute. But I do think that the likes of Prizefighter and 20/20 cricket have been a breath of fresh air to Boxing and Cricket, in addition to the regular format and competitions. It makes for great viewing, and is bringing good revenue into the sports also. Just something to consider I guess. If you ever get a chance to go watch a 20/20 game or Prizefighter event, I guarantee you won’t be bored.