Is it just me or does boxing seem empty right now

[SeekDaGreat]

boxing sucks right now...there's very little im lookin forward to so far

Awww c'mon man, Lundy is fighting Crawford.

[Fetta]

been saying, boxing is in a rebooting and rebuilding stage right now.

Boxing has 1 young star (Canelo) and the rest are still trying to build their names up for the public to want to see them. Not saying there isnt new talent cause thats starting to show but they are the few right now.

[Mr. Blonde]

Calm before the storm....hopefully.

[The Big Dunn]

That's stupid and sad. I hate to keep spitting out the same example, but more fans need to be like me. You can't even tell where I am from based on fighters I cheer for, as you shouldn't. It doesn't even help to grow the sport, to be that way.

Other than Floyd, Bradley is the only fighter I have supported that is from the USA in a long time.

Can you imagine if I limited myself to only watch and cheer for guys like Broner, Wilder, and Bradley? How narrow minded and pathetic is that? You limit your own exposure to the sport.

I can't stand Broner as a person or fighter, nevermind where he is from. I like Wilder, but I like Fury more, and consider him better, and expect him to be the face of boxing. Bradley I have always been a huge fan of, but not because he is from the USA, but because of his story, personality, and character.

I can't stand nationalism in boxing when it means certain fighters will get shunned, ignored, or judged in a biased manner. If you can't be nationalistic from a rooting perspective and still be objective when it comes to boxing and talent, then you don't need to be nationalistic period.

I think you are looking at it incorrectly, with all due respect.

Fans tend to be jingoistic in non team sports, like golf, tennis, boxing. You have a lot of crossover, but it isn't a huge stretch to understand that. It's not racism as the low intellectuals here on NSB like to suggest.

Fans cheer for fighters they can connect to. Most US fans connect with US fighters when they are young through the Olympics etc. Then later on they may connect with a non US fighter that comes to the US. Its difficult for US fans to connect with non US fighters dude when they are young because the 1st instinct is to root against them whether it be the Olympics, pan am games, or international competitions. You see my point?

I understand your point, again I just think you are looking at it in the worst case possible.

I agree, we don't need the Cooney/Holmes atmosphere around a fight. That said, I loved the Hatton/Floyd atmospehere-especially when the US fans got mad at the Brits for mouthing off during the national anthem.

I thought it made the fight that much more dramatic.

[-MAKAVELLI-]

Awww c'mon man, Lundy is fighting Crawford.

maybe Kovalev-Ward, Roman-Estrada rematch, help me out here Seek...what else can 2016 offer us

[pacmanis1]

Excellent post, hopefully people will learn to accept Mayweather/Pacquiao are gone or going. If the Heavyweights live up to the hype i think we will be in for a treat over the next 7-10 years.

I think the Heavyweight division is primed for a resurgence right now because of all the catchweight divas. In recent years we had Mayweather willing to fight Canelo only at 152. Canelo holds the 160b title but is only willing to fight 1lb over the JMW limit. GGG will fight Froch and Chavez at 168, but Ward must come down to 164. Ward was only willing to fight Dawson at 168. Broner and Porter had to be at 144 or 45 or whatever it was. I'm not even willing to write up all the times Pacquiao abused catchweights because there was just too many. Heavyweights will benefit from the incompetence and diva behavior of the lower weight champions.

[HughJass]

So I was thinking boxing just seems dead right now. I dont know if its cause Mayweather is gone and manny is fighting a fight no one wants to see but boxing just seems to be lifeless. Maybe its just because not much has been going on at all but it just dont seem good.

No fights are getting made nothing is happening hbo is refusing to work with certain promoters, pbc top rank and gbp dont do business together. The biggest star right now is probably canelo and ggg and now they avoiding each other. Ward is always about to fight and never does.

I dont know maybe im overthinking it but dont boxing just seem to be asleep at the wheel right now?

[SergioMartinez]

maybe Kovalev-Ward, Roman-Estrada rematch, help me out here Seek...what else can 2016 offer us

Pacquiao Vs Bradley 3.

2 Warriors that always go in and please the crowd. -Bob Arum.

[LoadedWraps]

I think you are looking at it incorrectly, with all due respect.

Fans tend to be jingoistic in non team sports, like golf, tennis, boxing. You have a lot of crossover, but it isn't a huge stretch to understand that. It's not racism as the low intellectuals here on NSB like to suggest.

Fans cheer for fighters they can connect to. Most US fans connect with US fighters when they are young through the Olympics etc. Then later on they may connect with a non US fighter that comes to the US. Its difficult for US fans to connect with non US fighters dude when they are young because the 1st instinct is to root against them whether it be the Olympics, pan am games, or international competitions. You see my point?

I understand your point, again I just think you are looking at it in the worst case possible.

I agree, we don't need the Cooney/Holmes atmosphere around a fight. That said, I loved the Hatton/Floyd atmospehere-especially when the US fans got mad at the Brits for mouthing off during the national anthem.

I thought it made the fight that much more dramatic.

Well I just think it's wrong to be jingoistic in that way period.

I get that it's easy to cheer for someone you relate to, but I think that's not really a good excuse when it comes to boxing, if all that you can relate to is being from the same country, and watching the person in the olympics.

And it is as bad as I describe it, at least here on NSB. (I know this isn't a representative sample size of the world population of fans, but we have some of the most hardcore fans here I think)

I watched the olympics. Zero interest in Andrade.

ODLH was a huge deal in the olympics but I didn't care for the olympics then, nor now, and didn't get behind him until he turned pro. And even then, his story about his mother was more powerful than what flag he was fighting for, at least to me.

I think people from smaller less developed countries have a better excuse than US citizens. Pac has a huge fanbase and with good reason, he is an icon in his country, and floyd/pac wars aside, his story is nothing short of inspirational. Remarkable. A story of hope. That doesn't work the same way in the USA, this is a melting pot of nationalities and colors and backgrounds moreso than many other places. You can experience poverty here, but rarely the kind of poverty Manny had in his childhood for example, and even if you did, you probably had influences in your life that transcended your immediate race and background.

I grew up in a poor latino neighborhood but I wasn't limited to exposure to only latinos, I saw people of all kinds at school, and around the city when I would venture out of my neighborhood.

To me, there is only one right answer: root for a fighter because you like his story, you like his style, you like his persona, and/or character.

LEAVE FLAGS AND COLOR OF SKIN OUT OF IT!

I just don't understand that way of thinking.

"I won't root for GGG or Fury because I can't relate". Or almost worse, to shat on those fighters because they aren't from the same flag, and deny how good they are.

I think it's ridiculously stupid.

professional prize fighting isn't the olympics.

ffs. let me go through my list of fighters and eliminate everyone who isn't latino or isn't from the USA and see what I have left.

Maidana: well, he is latino, would I get a pass? he isn't from the USA though.
Rigo: Same as above
Marquez: same as above
Bradley: I can still root for him being from the USA, unless latino takes precedence.
Yaegashi: I'd be screwed here.
GGG: I'd be screwed here.
Kovalev: I'd be screwed here.
Margarito: safe, as long as latino > usa if both apply, like with the other latinos.
Fury: I'd be screwed here.
Lomachenko: I'd be screwed here.

Isn't that just silly?

That's like me only eating food from my cultural background. I would never enjoy stuff like pasta, sushi, chow fun.

It's just ridiculous!!

I can't imagine that kind of thought process. I really can't.

And it's sad that so many people on here are like that, and they really miss out. They really do, because you limit your own exposure to a sport you claim to love, and you only watch said sport with very biased eyes.

How anyone can acknowledge that flaw in approach, and then continue to operate that way, just flat out blows my mind.

[Joe Beamish]

I think the Heavyweight division is primed for a resurgence right now because of all the catchweight divas. In recent years we had Mayweather willing to fight Canelo only at 152. Canelo holds the 160b title but is only willing to fight 1lb over the JMW limit. GGG will fight Froch and Chavez at 168, but Ward must come down to 164. Ward was only willing to fight Dawson at 168. Broner and Porter had to be at 144 or 45 or whatever it was. I'm not even willing to write up all the times Pacquiao abused catchweights because there was just too many. Heavyweights will benefit from the incompetence and diva behavior of the lower weight champions.

I agree with all this, although I don't know if heavyweights will actually reap the benefits. But it's true -- it is only the heavyweights who are truly legit in today's world of A sides who will only fight if they can receive some kind of advantage through weight gamesmanship.