By Scoop Malinowski

An interesting concept for a new boxing league in the U.S. is being developed by Michael Powell, the founder of the NBO Enterprises. In this interview Powell explains how the new league will work:

Boxinginsider: Please explain your vision of how the league will operate and culminate?

Michael Powell: My vision for NBO Enterprises is to develop a boxing league that uses a new patented performance-based scoring system. In this system, every boxing action will have a point value associated with it. Under these rules, the winner of a boxing bout must outperform his opponent in points earned. This system also eliminates the need for ropes in hopes of centering the boxers on the canvas to create a more eventful fight. The league will sign 64 ranked boxers, draft 128 unranked boxers, and recruit a large number of boxing prospects to fight with these rules. The league will also schedule boxing events in 56 U.S. cities and divide these cities into 8 geographical boxing regions. There will be 8 ranked boxers, 16 unranked boxers and some boxing prospects assigned to each region. The objective of the ranked boxers from each region, is to be the best boxer in that region to advance to the boxoffs (playoffs of boxing). The objective of the unranked boxer is to win the regional tournament to receive a ranking the following year. And the objective of the boxing prospect is to get drafted. The ranked boxers are the only boxers who can fight in the championship fight.

Boxinginsider: What weight class and which fighters are you considering to focus on?

Michael Powell: My original intentions is to have one weight class “the heavyweights” and in the future start other classes.

Boxinginsider: How did you get the idea for this league? What is your inspiration?

Michael Powell I was inspired by the May 5, 2007 fight between Mayweather and De La Hoya. I thought then that boxing should have one big fight every year. I wondered how can I promote a big fight and avoid competition from established promoters. I did a little research and realized that there’s a lot of controversy in traditional boxing, so I came up with revolutionary rules that has few foreseen controversies. Next, I came up with a schedule that incorporated many U.S. cities so that the championship fight will draw national interest. In addition, my ranked and unranked system was developed to have a main fight and an undercard for each event and to recycle under-performing ranked boxers with up and coming unranked boxers.

Boxinginsider: It seems like this is kind of like a spin off idea similar to The Contender, where your champion would then be a marketable name and eventual world title challenger? Is this correct?

Michael Powell: I’ve never seen the contender and I do not know how they operate. No, the champion will not be boxing marketable outside of this league, only commercially marketable. So I believe that it is a false presumption, but I will research the contender and get back with you on this subject.

Boxinginsider: What is your background in boxing?

Michael Powell: I’m a boxing fan only, I know what I would like to see in a fight, I know what type of journey I would like a boxer to embark on before fighting for a championship fight, and I know scheduled boxing events are more credible than match-made events, so that is what I created.

Boxinginsider: Given the state of boxing is apparently losing momentum and overall popularity to MMA in recent times, what are solutions that would restore boxing to where it belongs - as the premier, most exciting sport on earth?

Michael Powell: I do plan to restore boxing to the most exciting sport in the world. Boxing is dying because the superstars are long gone. The great boxers of the past were more than strong boxers, they were visionaries and prior to every fight they said exactly how they were going to destroy their opponents - Tyson, Ali, Foreman, and Frazier. With these new rules, we will train our boxers with a vision and help them develop their signature boxing moves. From my observations, the majority of today’s boxers are not impressive. Most fight like there’s a tomorrow. They don’t appear to worry about losing. In my league, every fight counts. One loss can cost an entire season. One hug is a penalty not a warning. And who cares about who wins a round, the most important thing is who wins the fight. Imagine if the Cowboys were 15-0 and lost the first three quarters of every game they played, if they were using traditional boxing rules to score the game, their record would be 0-15. So that’s how I approached the development of my idea, just like the major sporting leagues with logical thinking, organization, and score keeping. This idea makes a lot of sense and the people of the world will find this sport great again.

To recap, the solutions are scheduled events, performance-based scoring system, elimination of judges, ropes, and round winners, annual championship fights, annual drafts, and a national and hopefully worldwide fan base.