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Boxing fans are an interesting breed of people.
The sport appeals to people from all parts of the socio-economic spectrum. I know an economics professor who teaches at a major university, and has a substantial boxing collection. He doesn't sell fights, but he has two DVD recorders to better and more conveniently manage and add to his collection.
On the other end of the spectrum are those fans with an intellect that doesn't go much beyond "boo! and yay!" as they sit in the rows surrounding a match. You know what I mean, I think. They aren't watching for the finer points of the pugilistic science...if there's a lull in the action for even a moment, it's "boooo".
Just like with everything else in life, there are people who seek to cater to one or the other end of the spectrum, and there are a few who try to cater to everyone.
Over the years, I've found that there are some fight fans who have taste, and who have certain requirements they like to have met when ordering fights. There are others who couldn't care less about requirements...video quality doesn't matter, coverage options don't matter, editing doesn't matter, the way a fight is presented on tape or DVD doesn't matter...nothing matters but quantity and price. "Can you put 10 fights on the tape for me? I don't care if there are no ring intros or decision, I just want the tape as full as it can possibly be..."
They'll jump at the chance to buy a tape for $5.00 without ever giving a thought to what that tape will look like. They'll fill the shelves on their bookcases with overedited, rotten video quality fights and never blink an eye. They'll download clips of fights from the internet and think they're getting something worth having. They'll make copies of their overedited, crappy video quality fights and sell them at an auction site with no qualms at all. They don't even realize that there is another path to take when collecting fights. If this paragraph describes you, I don't think you'll want to waste any time checking out boxingvideoclassics.com.
Not everyone is looking for the cheapest thing they can buy. If they were, there would only be one brand of cars, one brand of shoes, one brand of hamburgers, and so forth. Only the cheapest would sell and the rest would just disappear.
So what's my point here?
My point is that I have chosen not to cater to the people with low standards. From the first fight I recorded, almost 2 decades ago, until today, I have considered video quality to be the most important long term asset to my collection. While others were recording their fights at the 6 hour speed on VHS back in the 80's, I bought a Beta VCR because they were superior in their recording quality. When VHS became the equal of Beta in terms of video quality, I made the switch, but not before.
People have sent me fights that were recorded on Certron tapes and other junk tapes, because they hated to spend an additional dollar to buy a name brand high grade tape. I recorded nearly all my fights on high grade tapes so I could get the best possible video quality. I considered the fight collection I was building to be a historical archive, and I felt it should be as good as it could possibly be.
As a result, the collection of fights that comprise boxingvideoclassics.com are a mix of my original high quality bouts, recorded with the SP speed on high grade tapes, and a percentage of fights I've received from others that better fit the description of those who prefer the cheapest things in life. I'm glad to have set high standards at the beginning. It's made a great difference. Fortunately, my own recordings are about 95% of the fights in my collection.
Now I can preserve those fights for many years to come on DVD. That's even better. They will outlast me by a very long time.
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