Can we Once and For all Stop Trying to Suck Up to "Casual Fans"

[ea22]

Everyone starts out as a casual fan, good fights grow interest in the sport and attract people who might become hardcore fans later on. It was a boring fight, deal with it, I am happy I didn't pay for it, but I feel bad for my friend who did. I may have found it more engaging than the people I was watching it with, but I would absolutely not blame them if they didn't watch boxing again, in fact I am tired of defending boxing, too much bull**** in the sport. Still I love it too much to let it go.

[Chrismart]

The casual fans have done my head in this week. I can only speak for the ones i know, the ones on my facebook ect..but i haven't half heard some garbage being talked.

The last fight they watched was Groves - Froch, they tuned into last nights fight, and now they won't watch another fight again until Sky Sports ram it down their throats.

Damn, i don't wan't to sound like i think i'm some boxing snob, but all the years i've spent looking for dodgy streams for a under-card fight in Mexico at 5am on dial up internet, or only knowing how a fight went down after waiting for a write-up in a magazine.
Then i get someone who doesn't even know who Matthysse/ Golovkin or even Marquez are.. acting like their Bert Sugar just because they bought a PPV or got a free BoxNation trial.

A guy got all preaching on me because i told him not to bet on an Mayweather KO in the first 4 rounds like he wanted to. This morning he's on Facebook wanting a PPV refund because the fight wasn't a toe-to-toe war.
Hadn't he watched Mayweather fight before...did he really think the fight was going to be a slug-fest?

Another guy we know was talking in a bar before the fight. We got onto the conversation of past fights...you seen Floyd Vs Castillo right? Nope. Corrales? No. Judah...Nah.
How about Manny Vs Barrera? No. You seen any of the earlier JJM fights? Reply was..'what do you mean, how may times have the fought?'

I have no problems with fans joining in the fun, i encourage it..i love introducing people to boxing. It's annoying though when people who don't watch boxing, act like experts for one weekend a year.
I even heard someone last night, post fight, say 'Why was Mayweather fighting a bum on PPV anyway'. He wasn't even poking fun at Pacquiao..he was asking what he thought was a serious question.

Ah well, at least they won't be around next weekend.

[Lokutus]

The casual fan is the blight of the purist across all sports networks unfortunately.

In F1 currently the casual morons have turned it into the Lewis Hamilton show, in Football all anyone cares about is Ronaldo and Messi, here in Boxing its the Mayweather Pac show. Ironically Im more intirgued by the Dirrell De Gale fight later this month from an actual Boxing fan point of view. That fight has mad potential.

But these fly by night fans who seem to be the only demograph that the TV stations present too seem to run sport these days. And in the UK the focus on epic drama in the build up is cringe worthy.

Pointless montage after pointless montage over epic middle Earth battle scores has worn your energy away by the time the fight comes around.

All day Ive heard casuals moaning that the fight wasnt worth staying up for...when a convo with any purist for five minutes wouldve warned them that what happened was highly probable.

[285Kid]

We part of the IBC (Internet Boxing Community) but we only make up a very small portion of the audience.. You can say that 85% of the people watching last night were casual fans

[The Gambler1981]

I will say this even though those types of fans are annoying, my billfold is a lot thicker due to the situation they created so I can't really hate them that much.

The plus side to that for me is that a whole lot of people will think they are boxing gambling experts now, so even though that casual money will leave for a spell the money they left behind is still not sharp money for the most part.

[Chups]

Thanks for the advice of not sucking up to the casual fans. But seriously, I need to watch Hagler-Hearns again just to make me feel better after this fight. I AM NOT JOKING!

[-PBP-]

We part of the IBC (Internet Boxing Community) but we only make up a very small portion of the audience.. You can say that 85% of the people watching last night were casual fans

There are plenty of great boxing fans that don't post on NSB and go to live fights.

85% is not casual. If you know who Matthysse, Kovalev, Thurman and even Garcia and Peterson are....you are not a casual. You're making an effort to look at your TV guide and watch boxing.

A true casual only watches ppvs.

[GRIP STACCIN]

grate post,,

[denium]

It's getting disgusting at this point. Like we are desperately trying to seek their acceptance. After every fight it's "Oh no...what will the casuals think"

Casual fans have done nothing for this sport but put money in Mayweather and Pacquiaos pockets. It's the only fighters they know about and its the only fights they watch. When they don't get their desired results, they degrade our sport.

We say "casuals want excitement".....they weren't watching Matthysse vs Provo, their not supporting GGG, Kovalev or Thurman....WE are.

We say casuals " keep boxing alive "...really? More like they keep the only 2 fighters they know about relevant. We are the one's that built Manny from " The Destroyer" to Pac man and Floyd from "Pretty Boy" to Money. They probably didn't even watch Pac vs Ledwaba, Barrera, etc. Or Floyd vs Corrales.

I welcome new fans to the sport who are willing to learn and make an effort to watch new fighters. But these fake non-boxing fans who only come around once per year to bring negativity can go to hell.

Really good post.

[Weebler I]

Fair point. However, a large number of newcomers who watch the 'super fights' go on to become ardent/die-hard fans.

Maybe not with this fight, though

This pretty much, everyone on here was a casual fan at one point.

And if we're keeping it 100, the majority of hardcores like the same things as casuals i.e. exciting fights with a bit of needle in the build up.