Donald J. Trump is a world figure who needs no introduction. The recently re-elected United States President will begin his second term as United States Commander-In-Chief on January 20th, 2025. Casual-level fans may wonder how this has anything to do with sports at all, much less Boxing. However, seasoned veterans of the Boxing community are watching enthusiastically for the inevitable impact that President Trump’s incumbency will have on the sport of Boxing.
As many casual-level fans are unaware, Donald J Trump’s name was synonymous with Boxing until he became known for his presidential runs. One could go so far as to say he was the Turki Alalshikh of the 1980s and 1990s, responsible for staging some of the biggest fights of all time, including but not limited to Tyson vs. Spinks, Holyfield vs. Foreman, and Tyson vs. Holmes. Trump did not merely host these historical events in his wildly successful casinos but promoted and/or sponsored them. Trump kept the sport alive for more than 30 years by using his revered business acumen to ensure combatants earned the most money possible while reeling in corruption at levels never seen and successfully standing up to nefarious figures and compromised commissions whose predatory activities threatened physical and financial health of fighters, as well as the integrity of Boxing itself.
Donald Trump’s positive impact on the sport of Boxing is reflected by the various honors and awards he has received. Aside from his permanent inductance into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame and the New Jersey State Boxing Hall of Fame, Donald Trump has earned the coveted Muhammad Ali Entrepreneur Award and the Sports Business Journal’s Most Influential Person in Sports Award. Trump is also, to this day, a staunch and passionate fan and supporter of Boxing, often appearing at events to thunderous applause and adulation from packed arenas full of combat sports fans who remember what the man has done to bring combat sports to where they are today.
Unfortunately, due to the inevitable political slander and rhetoric that comes hand-in-hand with challenging the most powerful people and cabals in the world, notable amounts of casual-level Boxing fans have been coerced into associating Donald J. Trump’s name with negative political rhetoric. To maintain this narrative, media outlets almost universally suppress specific consequential incidents in Boxing History.
Jack Johnson
In 1913, during the Jim Crow Era, when US law enforced racial segregation, the first black Heavyweight Champion in history, Jack Johnson, was charged with violation of the MANN Act. His crime was transporting his white fiancée over state lines. It is universally accepted that this was a blatant use of lawfare by whites who could not stomach the influence of a black man living with a white woman, reigning in the highest station of Boxing, the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Despite being charged for incidents that occurred before the MANN Act was signed into law, an all-white jury found Johnson guilty of the crime and sentenced him to a prison term.
Democrat President Woodrow Wilson allowed this injustice to stand, resulting in a permanent stain on Johnson’s record, which would negatively impact him for the rest of his life. The conviction stood through the subsequent 16 administrations, which included notable civil-rights-advocating presidents Barack Obama (8 years), Bill Clinton (8 years), Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin Roosevelt (12 years.) It wasn’t until 2018 that President Donald J. Trump issued a full posthumous pardon to Jack Johnson, finally relieving the man’s reputation of this political and race-driven conviction.
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson’s oft-troubled career is very well documented. However, many casual-level fans may not know that Donald Trump played such a positive role in Mike Tyson’s career and that Iron Mike eventually hired Trump to be his advisor through his legal issues and career moves. After successfully helping Tyson through his managerial dispute with Bill Cayton and paying Mike his largest paydays to date, nefarious entities attempted to poison the relationship by generating unsubstantiated rumors surrounding Trump and Tyson’s then-wife, Robin Givens. Soon afterward, Mike Tyson was accused of rape, convicted, and sentenced to six years in prison despite overwhelming evidence that the relationship with the alleged victim was purely consensual. During his early prison years, Mike Tyson had only one advocate and supporter, Donald Trump, demanding that Mike be allowed to train and pushing the appeal to his conviction. To this day, Mike Tyson publicly praises Donald Trump as the man who was always there for him, going so far as to publicly support Mr. Trump in his 2024 re-election bid despite the highly combustible 2024 political atmosphere.
Impact on Boxing
Trump’s Impact on Boxing
Less than a month before Donald Trump’s inauguration, let’s look at the potential positive impact of having a proven, passionate supporter of Boxing in the White House. First and foremost, President Trump could begin with the stronghold of the sanctioning bodies. Every year that passes, the word “Champion” is diluted and sold off in portions by the entities that hold the power of public perception. There is an apparent conflict of interest in the massive financial benefit for these authorities to have as many fighters wearing belts as possible and paying the accompanying sanctioning fees. It is yet another conflict of interest that these sanctioning fees are based on a percentage of a fighter’s purse rather than a flat fee, meaning that it is in the sanctioning bodies’ best financial interest to have the boxers that generate the largest purses wearing the belts rather than simply the best fighters. The results of these resounding conflicts of interest have the likely potential to sway everything from rankings to scorecards. Here in 2024, we have already reached the point where fighters lose on the world stage, only to have their “unbeaten” records restored through the court systems, Undisputed Champions stripped of belts to make way for undiluted sanctioning fees from the likes of popular fighters like Anthony Joshua, and clear victories for fighters like Tyson Fury scored as losses to accommodate opponents who have more years left in the sport than the champion. Boxing has gone from having eight weight classes and eight champions to having 17 weight classes and as many as 187 “champions,” with many weight classes having two or even three boxers wearing the same belt and paying sanctioning fees. Other effects of these conflicts of interest even result in compromised safety of the combatants, with popular fighters like David Benavidez and Devin Haney being allowed to enter the ring three or four weight classes heavier than their opponents.
President Trump can end this madness and make Boxing greater and safer than ever before. With America being the universally recognized authority in Boxing, a US Government Boxing division can be established. One championship with 13 weight classes could be established. One federal commission can be created, with the authority to override and sanction local commissions that stray from the rules. This commission would oversee and enforce weekly weigh-ins and drug screenings beginning six weeks away from the fight, with no licenses being issued for fighters on short notice of less than six weeks. This commission would also be the universal authority in the selection, training, and licensing of all referees and fight judges. It would not be necessary to attempt to de-regulate existing commissions, many of which are beyond President Trump’s jurisdiction, but instead, to create a new commission that would quickly gain the public’s trust and perception as the only authority that counts.
President Trump’s bold and proactive ambitions for America and world influence are further compounded by the rumored, much-needed redefinition of the 22nd Amendment, which could pave the way for Trump’s second term lasting eight years instead of four. Combined with President Trump’s undying love and support for the sport of Boxing, it could be only a matter of time before the idea comes to his attention or is brought to his attention through the advocacy of true Boxing fans worldwide.
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