Two title champ Lebron keen to fight Segawa

Two-title champion in the Super Featherweight division Henry Lebron's team have expressed interest in a fight with US-based Ugandan Sula Segawa.

Lebron, fighting out of Puerto Rico made his debut in 2017 and hopes to land a big-name bout in the USA against Silver Spring Maryland's darling and Uganda's flag bearer in pro boxing, Segawa.

"His (Lebron) team approached mine a couple of weeks ago and talks are being held for a possible fight," confirmed Segawa. "More details like whether I climb up to superfeather (130lbs, 59Kgs) or Lebron drops to feather (126lbs, 57Kgs), if we are fighting for the belt, contracts, possible fights date among others are still in infancy stage and yet to be determined,".

Both boxers are climbing the ladder of success at a super speed. Also, both boxers are attuned to winning accolades. Lebron, 18 (10KOs)-0 is the current North American Boxing Federation (NABF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) USA Superfeather champion. Segawa, 15 (6KO's) - 3 (1KO) - 1, is the National Boxing Association (NBA) and WBC USA featherweight champion.

"Right now I am busy training because I have to be prepared if any opportunity for a fight comes up. The rest, like stepping up from feather to superfeather, can easily be done," said Segawa.

With such impressive records, both boxers are a great attraction and prospects for big money fights in their respective divisions. At the same time, the clock is ticking for Segawa who won his WBA USA featherweight title in May to defend it.

According to WBC rules, a champion should aim to defend the title in mandatory or voluntary defences at least three times a year, unless a written exception or extension is granted by the WBC. A champion who does not defend his title within those periods shall forfeit their title, unless the WBC permits otherwise.

"I am recommended to defend the title by August 6," said Segawa. "We need to decide if I will step up weight and fight Lebron in Superfeather or wait and first defend my title in the featherweight. Either way, there is going to be a fight soon.”

Thinking about self-promotion

Now that his promotions company, Team Sula 22 is fully functional, Segawa is thinking about the idea of starting to promote his own fights. The only thing that remains to be decided is whether he'll promote himself in his next fight or future fights.

Segawa, who recorded his 15th career win three month ago when he defeated Misael Lopez to claim his second major title. He will need to defend it soon. And he will need a promoter or promote the fight himself.

"I am seriously considering that idea," said Segawa. "At the same time, I am in deep discussion with some guys to see if they can join me to co-sponsor my fights. I am weighing both options.”

Pros and cons

Boxing is one of the most popular sports in the world and by far the biggest among combat sports. Dating back to as early as 2000 BC, boxing is nearly as old as mankind and has remained relevant, evolving into a massive global sport.

Today, the brains behind the sport are the organizations referred to as promoters. They scout and recruit boxers, arrange matches, publicize them and advertise their fights. They are responsible for setting up the boxing matches; they arrange negotiations between fighters, venues, TV rights, marketing, ticket sales, and personnel.

And they provide funding for all of it. Promoters handle the business aspect of boxing and allow fighters to focus on actual boxing. There is a huge difference between a promoter and a manager. While the manager looks out for the interests of the boxer, the promoter's job is to look out for the interests of the promoter.  Sometimes those interests align with the boxer's interests, but more often they don't. This explains why so many boxers end up broke despite success in the ring. The less money a boxer makes for fighting, the more money the promoter gets paid for promoting the fight.

Promoters take on all the financial risk when setting up the fight so it is natural for them to make a profit on the money they have committed. The promoter and the boxer's manager negotiate the boxer's "purse" for the fight -- how much money the boxer takes home for stepping in the ring. The boxers' respective purses are a cost involved in setting up the fight, just like supplying an ambulance and food vendors are costs. The larger a boxer's purse, the smaller the profit the promoter takes home. So the promoter's financial interests are best served by minimizing the boxer's purse as much as possible, and an unscrupulous promoter will take advantage of a young, hungry boxer who just wants to get in the ring and show what he or she can do.

It's up to the manager to make sure the boxer gets a fair chunk of the pie. The promoter has no duty whatsoever to be fair to the boxer. But while a promoter is going to do everything in his or her power to minimize costs, the interests of a boxer and a promoter do align in a general way in that both of them benefit from a well-publicized fight. The biggest skill involved in being a great promoter is knowing how to market and advertise a fight so that it appeals to the broadest possible demographic. It's knowing how to get the most paying customers to want to see the fight. This means big money fights, better negation, and better opponents.

With this background you must already know that boxers who achieve not only success in the ring but also long-term financial success know to surround themselves with people who know the business of boxing as well as those who know the art.

SEGAWA AT A GLANCE

Full Name: Sula Segawa

Age: 32

Nationality: Uganda

Sex: Male

Residence: Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

Debut: 2013-04-21

Career: 2013-2023

Stance: Southpaw

Division: Feather

Record: 15 (6KO's) - 3 (1KO) - 1

Titles: NBA featherweight champion, WBC USA featherweight champion

Bouts: 20

Rounds: 128

KOs: 30%:

Height: 5′ 8″ 

Reach: 69″