Masterboxing – Seasoned older men at work: Peter Frohn-Lux (l.) clinches with former world champion Fırat Arslan
The label is shimmering: Boxing Bundesliga. And deceiving at the same time. The German Boxing Association (DBV) recently canceled the new season. Lack of teams, lack of deadlines. A rejection with an announcement. In recent years the league has consisted of three or four clubs. Not more. A miniature format, a caricature of a Bundesliga.
Now there is a new attempt. Not from the Olympic DBV, no, from a smaller professional world association, the World Boxing Union (WBU) based in Coppenbrügge in the Hameln-Pyrmont district of Lower Saxony. The idea and keyword provider is its president Torsten Knille. The DBV’s decision did not play a role in his considerations, said the WBU boss jW-Conversation. You don’t want to “take anything away” from anyone.
He had already been working on a concept for a league operation years ago. Organizational simulation games further developed, now and then stored in the back of my mind, in the drawer at home – but always ready to hand, always within reach. “We released the concept a few days ago and made it public.” Previously, the protagonists sat together in Wadersloh. Where the association holds its German championship for the semipro area, for amateur boxers.
But what are Knille and his colleagues up to? They want to establish a Bundesliga for all boxing disciplines in Germany. In the long term, anyway. A league with north and south relays. A two-track Bundesliga with one team from each of the 16 federal states, i.e. two eight-person teams – in a sense, a competition comparison between the federal states, a nationwide state league.
What’s more, a format that combines professional boxing, semi-pro boxing, kickboxing, master boxing (over 35), but also bare-knuckle in one fight evening, all “varieties” of boxing in a stand-up fight. That sounds like an event marathon. Both in terms of the individual fight night and the duration of the season. Knille reassures: “We’re only doing the first half of the season without rematches.” Otherwise the program couldn’t be completed within a calendar year. In addition: There are a maximum of eight rating fights per fight evening.
A professional world association that wants to shake up the German boxing scene with a new format
In short, the WBU Boxing Bundesliga is an exciting mix. A league operation that is intended to appeal to a broad audience and different groups of viewers, says Knille. This is also attractive for sponsors and their respective clientele. And what happens at the end of the season? Knille: “A nice national final, the first place in the Bundesliga North beat the German team champions against the first place in the South relay.”
Sure, initially there won’t be any top-level events in sold-out large city halls. More like galas in sports centers or house galas in gyms. “Our project is a process, it simply has to grow,” emphasizes the busy WBU President. In addition, the planned league is not at the top of the agenda. The association’s main focus is and remains professional boxing – on all continents, emphasizes Knille.
But when will the first gong ring and when should the German league start? “We didn’t set a time limit,” says Knille. Preparations are in full swing, and a personal network of federal and state managers is currently being tightened. At the forefront: Peter Frohn-Lux. The 62-year-old is the WBU world champion in master boxing – and national team manager North for the league. Now the rules and league structure have to be finally coordinated, he explains jW-Demand. In addition, those responsible and coordinators for the regions and federal states would be named. They then bindingly registered league teams and planned matchmaking. Yes, and pilot events or kick-off events could then take place “in order to get the processes in place properly.”
Expected: The first critical voices speak out. The mishmash of disciplines would overload an event. The federal state model is too fragmented. North and south, east and west realms. There are also legal hurdles. Bare knuckle, for example, has to be approved by the authorities in many places. But Knille doesn’t want to let that deter him. The implementation is one thing above all: a question of will, a question of doing – with brains and concept.
And: In Germany, martial arts events with kickboxing, classic professional and amateur boxing are already taking place almost every weekend – all on one fight card. If the organization, structure and dramaturgy are right, the WBU format can become a real highlight, according to Knille and Frohn-Lux. Then the label shimmers again: Bundesliga boxing.
