No Punch, No Pay

What the majority of ignorant boxing fans don't seem to understand is that if a boxer doesn't box through injury, or an opponent pulling out etc, then one, it's frustrating for the fighter, and two, they're not getting paid.

It's not like you're average 9-5 where if you take a day off sick you get sick pay. Its not like footballers who get paid to spend months on the injury table , or sat on the subs bench. I don't get why people find necessary to give boxers abuse for not fighting because they're injured?

I agree that it's frustrating for fans that have bought tickets, booked hotels or time off work to come and watch, but you have to think of how frustrating this is for the boxer himself. He doesn't want to be injured, he wants to be fighting and getting paid.

It's like when people were saying that Adam Booth cut David Hayes eye a week before his pay per view clash with Tyson Fury last September. People can have their conspiracy theories but Haye wouldn't duck out of that fight a week before after putting his body through months of torture and sacrifice. Think about paying all of the cost for his sparing partners, then to pull out of a fight that would've paid him five million pounds. You'd have to be seriously messed up in the head to do that.

I know people that think the shoulder injury that followed this prior to the scheduled rematch was fabircated but let's be honest David Haye's been fighting as a pro for over ten years now. Every punch he's thrown over the years has taken it's toll on his shoulder and its finally given way. Its not his fault that his shoulder gave up on him in the lead up to a massive fight like this.

You do have to feel for Tyson Fury who isnt going to be getting paid either. It cost him his biggest pay cheque to date and you can't begin to imagine how frustrated he must have been with the whole situation. He even claimed that he was retiring from the sport it got to him that much. That didn't last long!

This week Paul Smith Jr had to pull out of his fight against Welsh boxer Tobias Webb, the fight was scheduled for tonight in Liverpool. Paul suffered aninfection in his elbow that came from nowhere.People have been giving him stick on twitter but yet again why would he train his bollocks off for weeks just to pull out a few days before the fight, unless he was genuienly injured? He's been over to LA with the rest of the Gallaghers gym fighters and trained at the Wildcard, which I'm sure wasn't cheap. Why would people slag him off for an injury that's come out of nowhere and that he's no control over? Think of the boxer, he's in agony, frustrated and isn't getting paid.

I can assure you that the boxer is losing out more than you, even if you have bought tickets, hotels and booked time off work. You can still go and watch the boxing even if that fight isn't on? It's not as if the whole show's been called off?

Also this week the boxing board have stripped Derry Mathews of his commonwealth title. Derry has been out with a hand injury that required surgery so has been unable to defend it. It's not as if he's refused to fight. He's been unable to fight. This surely can't be right? This is unreasonable from the powers that be. Derry fought for the title and now they're taking away something that he has worked hard for because of an injury. I believe Derry should've been cut some slack and given the time to recover and defend his belt, he is the champ after all.