Reporting from Las Vegas β The city was still waking up. The casino floor at the MGM Grand was almost empty. The only line in the property was at Starbucks. Elie Seckbach wore a black hoodie over a black Bruce Lee T-shirt, dark blue jeans and a pair of black Michael Jordan sneakers. His head was covered with a black and white cap.
Sullivan will be fighting Saturday on the undercard of the middleweight championship match between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. He has uploaded more than 71, videos that have collectively amassed more than million views, generating enough income for him to work as a full-time reporter for the last five years.
His reach is such that he is frequently asked to pose for photographs not only by fans, but also by boxers. He has helped broker fights. As traditional media outlets continue to scale back their coverage of boxing β Lance Pugmire of The Times is believed to be the only newspaper writer in the country who reports exclusively on combat sports β the sport has turned to new media for exposure.
Jane Murcia, a senior associate at the Mercury public strategy firm contracted by Golden Boy Promotions, estimates that more than half of credentialed reporters at most boxing events produce material exclusively for blogs or social media platforms such as YouTube or Instagram. The average fight is covered by a handful of reporters from traditional media outlets and a throng of videographers holding up camcorders and smartphones.
Seckbach was a pioneer of the medium. And however many others have followed his lead, he remains a distinct voice. Many of his videos open with a rap song a viewer wrote and recorded in his honor.
