Michael Moorer is thrilled about his upcoming induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024, but he is also calling for significant reform to a sport he says is “manipulated.”
“There are no benefits for boxers; none. There are no benefits,” Moorer (52-4-1, 40 knockouts) told FightsATW from his home in South Florida. “For retirement, there are no rewards. For the Hall of Fame, there are no rewards. You get a plaque and a ring, which is honorable. You get the recognition.”
For Moorer, 56, who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in the Rust Belt borough of Monessen, Pennsylvania, the honor of being inducted doesn’t exactly make up for the money he feels was stolen from him throughout his 20-year professional career. “All the money you make is all taken from you because you trusted people and you thought people had your best interests at heart, where they were taking like slave masters. That’s not cool. I don’t see why the majority of the money is always taken from the boxer.
“A manager [receives] 23 1/3%. That’s what a lawyer gets. If you’re a promoter, you have status already. You get the gate. Why do you need to take 25% of the fighter’s purse? And you only give 10% to the fighter’s trainer, who gets the fighter ready. Still, that just goes back to the slave days when people took advantage of people and that’s not right.”
When asked by FightsATW what his solution would be if he had authority, Moorer, a three-time heavyweight champion (first southpaw heavyweight champion) and one-time light heavyweight champion, said he would first require fighters to wear heavier gloves to enhance protection, followed by creating an additional weight class.
“I would change all the gloves. The six ounces go up to eight, the eight goes to 10, the 10 goes to 12, and there needs to be a super heavyweight division. In this day and age, these guys are much bigger, and there’s such a big gap [between some fighters]. It needs to be done. If that happened, the 12-ounce goes up to 14 ounces. There’s no retirement. There are no health benefits, so why not raise the gloves up? That’s protecting the fighter.
“You have a lot of fighters who have been unfortunately injured. Why? Because of these small gloves, there’s no retirement, there’s no health insurance. There’s nothing. [I would like to see] a boxer’s union. The union would regulate everything. Also, we don’t need a commissioner in every state. Football, basketball, baseball and hockey don’t have that in every state. But why does boxing? Because boxing is manipulated, and you need somebody who’s going to step up and make it [better].”
Moorer also railed against the role of sanctioning bodies in the number of belts available, stating there are too many titles and that the top power brokers are exploiting fighters to make extra money. “There should be four belts: WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO. All of them other belts, people are fighting for [interim and regular titles] and calling themselves champions? That’s not right. That’s false. That’s because [the sanctioning bodies] want to make extra money off the [fighters]. When I was fighting, the sanctioning fees that I was paying to fight for those belts is sickening. The belt is not even gold. That’s sickening.”
Moorer estimates he paid as much as $200,000 in sanctioning fees when he fought George Foreman for the WBA/IBF heavyweight straps when they fought on November 5, 1994, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Moorer suffered his first loss as a pro that night when Foreman, at age 45, knocked him out to become the oldest heavyweight champion ever.
“For what!? Moorer questioned. “That [went] to somebody’s pocket. Fighting for a belt that’s not even gold doesn’t make sense. Everybody is getting paid from the boxer, and the boxers always end up broke, except the ones who took care of [their business] themselves. Floyd Mayweather is a great example.”
When asked what he would have done differently managing his career, Moorer said he doesn’t waste his time on what-ifs. “People say this, and people say that, but that could never happen. I don’t talk about what-ifs. No.” It’s hard to argue with his logic. It’s a pointless exercise because no matter how many different scenarios you ponder, “that can never happen.”
Moorer clarified that he is not angry with boxing, although that wasn’t always the case. He supports changes that would put more power in the hands of the fighters. “I was angry at boxing because it took everything from me. I wasted my whole life on boxing and I got nothing to speak for it. Nothing. I got less than 20% of my money. That doesn’t make sense. I got less than 20%. That’s what I would try to change. I used to be angry at boxing, but I’m not angry. I’m done with the game, you know? This is my final chapter, being inducted into the Hall of Fame, so that’s what I look forward to.”
Despite his tumultuous relationship with boxing, Moorer is happy he’s finally receiving the respect he didn’t always receive during his 20 years as a professional fighter. “Being that I’ve been out of boxing for a while and having that honor come up and grace me, I’m appreciative because I know what it’s about. I’m glad it took some time [for me to be inducted] because I’m more understanding [of the process].”
When Moorer takes the stage in Canastota, NY. during the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s annual induction weekend from June 6-9, he will do so as the 22nd former heavyweight champion to be inducted in the modern era category. He will also join Michael Spinks and Roy Jones Jr. as the only boxers in that category to have won titles at light heavyweight and heavyweight.
Moorer also credited his opposition for helping him reach the pinnacle. “Everybody was tough because they all came to fight and fortunately, I came out on the top end for most of them.”
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