Too much hate and disrespect against top boxers.

[Rock&Roll]

My 10 year daughter was watching a TV programme the other day and as I sat with her and watched it, it quickly became apparent that the writers had styled the dialogue and character interaction on the solipsistic back and forth that you tend to find in the world of social media posts. There was no conversation as such, more a continuous stream of exclamation marked opinions.

That concerns me for the future. Specifically for what we are talking about here I have a handful of friends who are serious boxing fans. Of those only one of them has formed his love for the sport in an age of social media and internet forums. It may be a coincidence but he's the only one of us that badmouths boxers. The way he talks about fighters, the way he talks of the sport, the way he expresses his opinions seems governed by the interactions that he's used to having on social media.

If internet interaction was the the only opportunity I had to converse with boxing fans, I'd be convinced that the majority of boxing fans hate boxers. When DirkDigglerUK was posting on here, in one of his posts he stated that non of his friends are into boxing, that this is the only place that he could talk about the sport. I genuinely felt for the guy.
If you log off for a few months, as I do from time to time, when you come back it's startling to see how some previously decent posters have degenerated. They fall into the mode of interacting in a world governed by ideas of 'fanboys' and '******s', 'cowards' and 'hypejobs'.

The thing is, with more and more people spending inordinate amounts of time interacting through social media rather than face to face (which is far more nuanced), what if the way fans think about the sport and talk about it in here becomes the norm out there? . . . Then we're really ****ed.

There are many things that I enjoy about this place and it does seem to have an addictive quality. But the balance has shifted for me. I enjoy coming on here and I'll continue to do so, but do I think I'd enjoy the actual sport of boxing more if I didn't? . . . I think the answer is probably yes.

Great post!


Hey, if anyone is interested - there is a thread on b0xingnews24 titled 'i am a boxing manager' its a Q&A (few years old) asking a manager about all sorts. It gives a great insight into the buisness side of boxing. Comes up first hit in google if anyone is interested.

Actually, wrong target audience. Where are them narrow minded hating fuks.. They should be made to read it.

Study without reflection is a waste of time, reflection without study is dangerous.

[soul_survivor]

I certainly agree that there is too much hate on this site when fighters lose, especially to other top guys and get branded bums. Just look at how Khan was treated, even though we should be applauding what he did. Then there is the whole racial bias, strongly divided by eastern euros and blacks who like or dislike fighters based on obvious points.

However, I can't call out the hate when top fighters don't fight each other and it's bs to say "oh well it's 2016". That's a terrible excuse. Just look at Framptons level of opposition or Froch in the past or the cruisers starting to consistently fight at a higher level. There is no excuse, especially when top fighters are getting paid millions to fight bums and then call out name fighters after fighting said bum...only to disappear or to make zero effort at actually making a fight.

Prime examples of boxing premadonnas include Canelo and Wilder. Canelo said he didn't **** around...then vacated his belt. Wilder, even after the Pov fight fell through, had the perfect opportunity to have a top defense, yet put in a 4th straight defense against a bum.

[Willy Wanker]

I agree. We can hate boxers, but they still deserve respect for the most part.

For example I hate Floyd, but I respect everything he's accomplished and he's one of the most brilliant and talented fighters I have ever seen. He's a diva and an uneducated piece of garbage, but he's still the best fighter of this era, or last era I should say.

[Ray*]

I have learn to not reply to the cra*p that i read on here, or the trolls that try to be clever. You don't even need to put them on ignore, just don't reply to those threads/post. Silence is the best answer for a fool sometimes. Just go in and discuss boxing with the ones who have shown that they are mature enough to deal with an arugment without hate or biase.

[Ray*]

I certainly agree that there is too much hate on this site when fighters lose, especially to other top guys and get branded bums. Just look at how Khan was treated, even though we should be applauding what he did. Then there is the whole racial bias, strongly divided by eastern euros and blacks who like or dislike fighters based on obvious points.

However, I can't call out the hate when top fighters don't fight each other and it's bs to say "oh well it's 2016". That's a terrible excuse. Just look at Framptons level of opposition or Froch in the past or the cruisers starting to consistently fight at a higher level. There is no excuse, especially when top fighters are getting paid millions to fight bums and then call out name fighters after fighting said bum...only to disappear or to make zero effort at actually making a fight.

Prime examples of boxing premadonnas include Canelo and Wilder. Canelo said he didn't **** around...then vacated his belt. Wilder, even after the Pov fight fell through, had the perfect opportunity to have a top defense, yet put in a 4th straight defense against a bum.

Does this sound right to you? No offence.

[joseph5620]

Does this sound right to you? No offence.

LOL I spotted that too. He just seriously contradicted himself.

[Oldschool5]

I can understand the anger some of you have but there comes a point where nearly every 2nd post is just vitriol and pretty disgraceful posting.

I signed up pretty recently after being just a reader for a while because some of the posts are just mental.

I think some of you need to direct your hate towards the management of the sport itself and less so towards the boxers themselves. A couple key points on this.

1. IT IS 2016, IT IS INCREDIBLY HARD TO MAKE A FIGHT BETWEEN TWO TOP GUYS. The reason you're seeing so many one sided defences and title fights is because it's not easy for these guys to fight other top guys. These guys are being managed by business men, not boxing men. I HATE the cherry picks. I hate the weak resumes of nearly all the top guys. My favourite fighters in GGG, Kovalev etc... These guys have such poor resumes in comparison to their skill set... This can be partly because of management and also a big part is because...

2. THE BUSINESS/FANS ARE SO FICKLE THESE DAYS, just one loss can be so damaging to a career if guys want to be at the 'top'. We live in the age where you're either a bum or a god. Some "fans" are so bipolar that their is no in between in their eyes. I've seen posts saying Lemueix, Groves, Eubank, Breazeale, Porter etc are bums... Jesus. Bums? These type of guys have always been around. Not elite, but good high level guys capable of giving the top guys good fights. Every sport has them.

3. ABC belts have given these companies and some of the top guys a false sense of what they want to be making as a fighter. Everyone thinks they are worth more but no one wants to take the risks to build their name because a loss is so damaging. Back when, there was one champ per division. HE MADE THE MONEY. You want that money? You climb the ranks and take that belt. Nowadays, you got 4-5 "champs" per division, half of which couldn't even be named by some fans. But because of those paper titles these guys think they should be earning 5mil a fight.

Now having said all of that... Some of these boxers aren't daring to be great.. But instead of the hate, have a think about why. It's unfortunately the nature of boxing at the moment. I don't blame these guys. I blame the sport itself. Hope to hear some level headed discussion and if I've missed anything love to hear some thoughts?

Cheers guys.

Great post! It's all about the money nowadays! Follow the trail, you'll see.

[soul_survivor]

Does this sound right to you? No offence.

Are you telling me Wilder hasn't fought 4 bums in a row? His best defense arguably, has been a guy called Duhaupas who is barely a level above journeyman.

I know you're trying to make out like it was a contradiction but it wasn't, in fact, the part you highlighted, I clearly stated when a fighter loses against other top opponents. I made that very clear.

Do you understand now?

[Ray*]

Are you telling me Wilder hasn't fought 4 bums in a row? His best defense arguably, has been a guy called Duhaupas who is barely a level above journeyman.

I know you're trying to make out like it was a contradiction but it wasn't, in fact, the part you highlighted, I clearly stated when a fighter loses against other top opponents. I made that very clear.

Do you understand now?

Not even going to get in an argument whether he fought "bums" or not. Am just pointing out the irony of your post.

[soul_survivor]

Not even going to get in an argument whether he fought "bums" or not. Am just pointing out the irony of your post.

You misunderstand the word irony if you think what I wrote was ironic.

You lot on here really do give boxing fans a bad name, the stereotypical uneducated wanabe thugs. SMH