Doghouse Interviews Nigel Collins, Ring Magazine Editor-in-Chief
 (April 16, 2004)
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Manny Pacquaio with Nigel Collins
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Nigel Collins has been a boxing fan since he was a child, getting his introduction to the sport as so many of us do, from his father and grandfather. He recalls Joe Louis, Ray Robinson, and Archie Moore as “practically saints” in his boyhood home, and he soon developed a desire to write about the sport of boxing. Collins’ experience with writing began in high school, where he would write book reports and term papers for other students in order to earn gas money for a 1956 Rambler.
Eventually his love for writing and his love for boxing would lead him to The Ring Magazine, where he began as a Philadelphia-Atlantic City correspondent. The first fight he covered for the magazine was Philadelphian Bennie Briscoe’s seventh-round TKO of Luis Vinales on October 11, 1972. Collins continued work as a freelance reporter until 1983, when he joined The Ring’s staff as an assistant editor, and he would be promoted to editor-in-chief in January 1985. His first stint as the chief editor of The Ring would end with the May 1989 issue, but he would come back to work with “The Bible of Boxing” in 1993 as a managing editor before regaining the editor-in-chief laurels once again in 1997.
During this interview, Collins spoke with Doghouse Boxing on a wide variety of issues concerning the sport of boxing. This is what he had to say.
DB: How long has the Ring's Championship policy officially been in effect, and within that period of time, are you satisfied with the level of approval it has received (a) among the fans; and (b) among the boxing press and media outlets?
We announced our new championship policy in the April 2002 issue. I am very happy with the support we've received from our readers and fans in general. The media's response has been a mixed bag. The folks at ESPN have been our strongest supporters. Not only have Brian Kenny, Max Kellerman, and Joe Tessitore been behind us 100 percent on the Friday Night Fights, Kenny has also invited Managing Editor Eric Raskin, Associate Editor Joe Santoliquito, and I to be regular guests on ESPNews to talk about the current scene.
We've also had excellent support from USA Today's Dan Rafael and several Maxboxing.com columnists. Other print journalists, such as Michael Rosenthal and Royce Feour, have also written positive articles. But overall, much of the mainstream media has given our championship policy scant attention at best. There are probably several reasons for this, laziness and unwillingness to give credit to another publication are likely among them. The HBO broadcast team has been somewhat supportive, but have yet to get behind what we are trying to do to any significant degree. Showtime, meanwhile, has totally ignored our campaign to restore integrity to championship boxing.
DB: Hopefully fifty years from now The Ring's policy will have gained full acceptance, but as it is right now, when future historians look back on the sport, whose champion do you think they will recognize from this period?
Historically, The Ring will probably have more influence than it has it does right now. I believe people will look back on what The Ring is trying to do and realize that we had the sport's best interest at heart. And perhaps more importantly, that we came up with a workable alternative to the way things are done.
DB: Do you think the alphabet bodies will soon be a thing of the past?
I sure hope so, but there are so many people in the industry who take advantage of the fact that the alphabet gangs can be influenced by factors outside of what takes place inside of the boxing ring. The alphabet gangs would not exist without the support of TV networks, promoters, managers, and boxers. People tend to forget that there is not a single law in any state that requires an alphabet organization's involvement in a fight.
The only power they have is the power we give them.
DB: What is the biggest problem with boxing today?
Greed and the lack of long-range vision. Far too many people are worried about their own particular problems, and not what's best for the sport.
DB: Should ESPN decide at the end of the year or before to get completely out of the boxing business, are there any networks out there that you feel should or could pick up their slack?
If NBC's series is well-received, they will probably be back for more, and might even
prompt other networks to give boxing a shot. But don't give up on ESPN. Even though there will be no Friday Night Fights the last three months of 2004, a well-placed source told me FNF will definitely return in 2005.
DB: What can be done to draw more fans from the mainstream to boxing? Do you think the new television reality series "The Contender" will go a long way toward that goal?
The biggest problem with the mainstream media is that most sports editors of daily newspapers and the producers of TV sports news programs know absolutely nothing about boxing. Rather than learn, they either ignore it or take a condescending attitude. I don't know what kind of impact The Contender will have. If it produces some good fighters, it could be very positive. But if it turns out to be a Toughman kind of thing, it could hurt.
DB: What effects, if any, will the recent FBI investigation on Top Rank have on the sport as a whole?
It may force commissions to tighten up on the way prefight medicals are handled, and that would be a good thing. It might also weed out a few rotten apples, but boxing has to reform from within to become all that it can be.
DB: Do you feel that the Federal Government should regulate the sport?
I have serious doubts. We might just be trading in one set of scoundrels and bumblers for another.
DB: If you could choose someone to be a federal boxing "czar," who would you appoint and why?
I'm not at all sure a czar is the answer. But for discussion's sake, I would go with Steve Farhood, who has as much integrity as any person I've met in boxing. Steve is one guy I'm sure couldn't be bought.
DB: What is your opinion on Lennox Lewis' legacy?
I think Lennox will be appreciated more in retrospect than he was during his career. I'd place him somewhere in the second half of the top 20 heavyweights of all-time.
DB: Which Klitschko brother will ultimately go farthest in the heavyweight division? What do you think of Wladimir's collapse against Brewster?
Vitali might get past Corrie Sanders if he can survive Sanders' early attack, but I doubt
he'll ever be considered an all-time great. I think the Klitschko brothers will be eventually viewed as an interesting, but flawed novelty.
DB: Do you think that Felix Trinidad's comeback will be a good thing for boxing?
In the short term it will be positive, but I wonder whether it will be a good thing for Trinidad's health and legacy.
DB: Do you follow Internet boxing websites, and if so, as a print writer, how do you feel about the proliferation of such?
In a way websites have replaced boxing coverage in daily newspapers. I find them
informative and fun, but, just like the papers, I don't believe everything I read.
DB: Do you think that these sites are doing a competent job of reporting?
The quality varies wildly. There's some very good reporting and writing on boxing websites, but a lot of it is pure crap.
DB: Who are some of the better fighters you have covered in your career, and what made them so special?
There's too many to go into, but there is one quality I've found in every great boxer I've ever covered: The courage to fully commit to the moment.
DB: What has been the highlight of your career as a boxing writer to this point, and why?
My recent trip to the Philippines to present Manny Pacquaio The Ring belt has to be high on my list, but there have been many others. Even though I've been doing this for decades, I still look forward to going to the office every single day. That kind of satisfaction is something money can't buy.
Thanks for your time, Mr. Collins.
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