Introducing Scotland’s newest Boxing promoter
BoxRec News’s Craig Mackay talks to Scotland’s latest boxing promoter Grant Jeans, a former boxing journalist who after a spell working with Braveheart promotions now runs his own boxing promotions company.
CM. You started in the boxing business (after a short spell writing for various publications) working for Braveheart promotions. How did your expectations of working in the industry match up to the reality?
GJ. I did some writing on the internet but also had bylines in the Daily Record, The Herald, Boxing News and a lot more in the Press and Journal.
My expectations at Braveheart Promotions and the reality were totally different but I will always be grateful to Barry Hughes for giving me a job. In terms of the boxing industry as a whole, I would say that things usually turn out as I expect them to. The world of boxing is full of ups and downs. One minute you can feel like everything is going against you, the next everything looks like it will be all right - that's boxing.
CM. When you say, “my expectations at Braveheart Promotions and the reality were totally different”, in what way? Were there aspects to your job that you didn’t expect at all?
GJ. I have to be careful when answering this question. Yes, there were some aspects to the job that I didn't expect but I would say that they were aspects that no one would expect in any kind of job.
CM. After Braveheart promotions owner Barry Hughes lost his promoter’s licence, you stayed in the business and are a registered manager and agent. Are you still working with a lot of the Braveheart fighters?
GJ. I hold licences as a manager, matchmaker and agent. I try to help every boxer that was on the books at Braveheart Promotions. However, it has not been possible to help all of them.
I made sure Kevin McIntyre got plenty of media coverage before his fights with
CM. It must be rewarding to see boxers like Gary Young winning titles and knowing you played a role in making it happen. What stands out as your favorite moment when working in the industry?
GJ.. My favourite moment so far was just as the bell was about to ring for the first round of the bout between Willie Limond and Harry Ramogoadi. I was actually able to sit down and watch the full fight knowing that it was a miracle that the show had actually gone ahead that night.
I don't think I will ever again be involved with a promotion that was hit with so many unforeseen disasters.
(Grant went on to mention a huge string of setbacks including Limond’s original opponent Godwin Mutampuka failing a medical after overcoming many hurdles to even be allowed to fly into the UK in the first place. Mutampuka’s late replacement, Harry Ramogoadi, had his flight delayed on the day of the fight and an accident on the road delayed his arrival at the weigh in by more than two hours.
One undercard bout had to be called off due to a manager not agreeing to an opponent for his fighter and one bout was close to being called off after Kris Carslaw’s opponent missed his flight altogether and faced a last minute dash to get to Paisley. On top of that, the person responsible for putting together the souvenir programme had a printer breakdown. A series of unfortunate events that Lemony Snicket would have been proud of I think!)
CM. You recently took the brave decision to set up a promotions company of your own, Jeans Sports Promotions. How have you found the transition from working for someone to trying to run a company yourself?
GJ. It is a lot easier running my own company. I don't have to wait for other people to make decisions and I don't have staff in an accounts department to argue with because I run everything myself.
CM. On the subject of Jeans Sports Promotions, what are your plans for 2010?
GJ. The plans for Jeans Sports Promotions are dependent on me being successful in the running races I compete in. I aim to win the following:
Glasgow-Edinburgh Double Marathon, Cotswold 35.2 Mile Challenge, Lochaber Marathon, Anglo Celtic Plate 'Home Nations' 100km, IAU 100km World Cup, Fife AC 50km, East Hull Harriers 24-Hour Track Race and John Lucas Memorial 50 Mile Run Round Strathaven.
I am also determined to convince the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Scotland to add a 100km race (track, road or multi-terrain) to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
On top of that, I would also like to start promoting professional boxing shows.
CM. That’s a fair amount of miles between them! Your successful running career is obviously your priority at the moment, do you think you will be able to juggle running a promotional outfit with your own athletic career or will one always have to come first?
GJ. My running career will always come first but, yes, I believe I can juggle the two. Planning is the key. I have already planned out all of the races I want to compete in this year and on what dates I would like to promote boxing.
CM. Who would be your tip for a Scottish boxer to stand out in 2010?
GJ. I think that Lee McAllister and Ricky Burns will be the boxers who compete at the highest level, but in terms of a Scottish boxer who could step up and make an impact, I would say Kris Hughes is in the best position to do so.
Kris has been active throughout 2009, remained undefeated, managed to score his first stoppage win, fought live on terrestrial television and is learning and improving with each fight. Another advantage Kris has is that title opportunities will be easier to come by in the super-bantamweight division by comparison to the higher weight classes.
I also hope Kenny Anderson can get active and that Willie Limond secures a fight that he really wants.
CM. Finally, as a boxing promoter, what are your views on the alphabet world titles? Would you be happy promoting a bout for a vacant WBU title between two boxers not ranked highly in the world rankings as a world title fight?
GJ. I would prefer that there was only one world title in each weight division but that is not likely to become a reality any time soon. The more "world" titles, the more opportunities there are for boxers, managers, promoters, sanctioning bodies and everyone else involved with the sport to earn more money.
The only way I can see there eventually being one world title for each weight division is if all the licensed professional boxers in the world say they all want to be ranked by and to fight for one governing body's version of the world title. I don't think that will happen because most boxers want the distinction of being a world champion so they will take whatever opportunity comes around to fight for a world title, even if it is a version that is not as highly regarded as another version.
If there was only one world title, there would obviously be a lot less world champions. That would also result in some boxers not earning the higher purses available at world title level. It would be unrealistic for all of the world governing bodies to merge. There would not be enough work and a lot of people would lose their jobs.
If boxing fans don't want to see a particular governing body sanctioning "world" title fights, they should not buy a ticket for the promotion featuring the contest and refuse to watch the bout on television or over the internet. The promoter would then have to carefully consider whether to promote that governing body's "world" title again if he/she can't make any money through ticket sales or television revenue. Fan power would be the key to stopping so many "world" titles being contested.
Would I be happy promoting a bout for a vacant WBU title between two boxers not ranked highly in the world rankings as a world title fight? Well, although the bout was cancelled, I was the main organiser of the promotion at which Willie Limond was scheduled to fight for the WBU title. I am not going to single out one governing body because they all have their good and bad points. It would depend on the circumstances. If a boxer I managed or promoted wanted to fight for one of the more lightly regarded world titles, I think I would do everything I could to make that boxer's dream a reality - provided I thought it was right for the boxer.
