It's simple.
People just don't take boxers seriously anymore. You want to know why boxing was so popular during Mike tyson's reign and back in the 70's??? because the heavyweights of yesteryear were FEARSOME. People respect what they fear, and if they see a huge ass dude like lennox lewis or tyson, they're going to respect and be drawn to them, but most importantly be fearful of them and their size and power.
You can't get that kinda impact with lower weights, I mean come on honestly, if a guy like pacquiao or mosely ever came up to you and gave you a mean look, would you actually feel threatened. Sure these guys are warriors, but are they warriors on the street?? HELL NO!!! they'd get beat down by any big dude they came across, which is why the average guy has a hard time taking dudes that look like toothpicks seriously.
Why else do you think MMA is on the rise?? because those guys are the epitome of badassness, they're huge, cut up, and mean muthafuckas, and those are the guys people respect, not a bunch of short skinny fucks.
Boxing in the lower weight division is generally laughable, which is why boxing itself is going into the gutter. If I wanted to see 5'3-5"5 "children" slugging it out, I would just put on a pair of "Sock em Boppers" on my lil bros, and watch em duke it out.
The heavyweight division needs to get cleaned up, hell throw in a superheavyweight division if you have to, in order to bring the golden age of boxing back again.
Boxing is boring more than not, which was not the case in the 70's and 80's. The reason is that it has become less about how much can I hurt the other person which is the only reason it was ever popular to begin with dating back to ancient civilizations, and more about how to win at any cost to the sport. It is a sport in that you can only use your hands, and a fight in that the point is to hurt the other(at least at the professional level). Fighters themselves know this, its why they always claim to cause damage to the other in prefight hype.
Good observations...
IMHO, there isn't nearly enough raw and exciting cross-over talent anymore in boxing. Not like the SRR's, Ali's, SRL's, Duran's, Tyson's, etc.
DLH is probably the only cross-over star that has kept boxing on the map at this time.
With the exception of the heavily promoted DLH vs Mayweather bout, the media hasn't been covering the sport like they used to.
Hopefully, guys like Cotto and Hatton can keep the flames going before boxing really hits an all time low. :boxing:
HAHA your kidding right? no one in their right mind would ever fuck with the heavyweight champion, or any heavyweight in general. Only wannabe tough guys would be dumb enough to do that. Did you know that when tyson was in jail, he knocked out the "big man" in jail?? no one fucked with him after that. I read that in an article here on this site. No one is as tough as a heavyweight, that's just ridiculous. Big behemoths who are used to getting hit by hardass punches then the typical street thug is used, would always kick anyones ass on the street. Like Shannon Briggs for instance, THAT GUYS FUCKIN HUGE!!! he kicked a linebackers ass in a club and busted his eye up with just one punch. Tell me, do you honestly believe any 135-145 lb guy has the ability to do that?? hell no!!
haha back in the old days if a heavyweight champion got sued, he could easily beat the rap through "inside connections" (aka don king), but that was when the heavyweight championship was still a coveted prize unlike now. Besides if someone gets their ass kicked due to provoking another person, the courts normally take the case VERY lightly.
no average guys gives a shit about robberies or corruption when majority of big fights are by little men.
shane mosely would have to grow a couple more inches taller so he can even land those hooks to begin with..haha Ronnies huge ass muscles would absorb each and everyone of those punches, he wouldn't even blink. All it would take is one shot to drop mosely.
you say the UFC is marketed primarily around lower weight fighters, I agree. The difference is these supposed "lower weight" fighters are actually BIG when compared to the welt/light. boxers. A welterweight fighter in the ufc is twice the size of a welt. boxer, which is why they're so easy to market. When people see MMArtists they think to themselves "damn I wish I was that big then I could kick anyones ass"; and when they see a lowerweight boxer they'll be like "shit that guy looks malnourished, I'd hate to be in his shoes, he probably couldn't even bench a plate".
Like I said before I like boxing , mainly anything above super middleweight, and I respect these warriors for what they do, but you can't expect to rely on the lower weight division to bring boxing back to mainstream popularity, cuz it just aint gonna happen. It would be like enjoying a good scrap out by a couple of high school kids, but in the back of your head you know you could beat both their asses in a fight.
maybe our definition of tough differs...
but i seriously doubt the local badass named chico who hangs around the cigar shop can fuck with a top lvl professional...might have more 1 punch power but in terms of technique and stamina c'mon man.
fellas, i have to say, you would be obtuse to think that professional fighters are the toughest guys around. i'm not saying that they aren't, i'm saying they're not the only bad asses out there in the world.
i think you guys are only thinking about the sport aspect of things, i'm talking in regards to street violence.
there are guys that have a vocational career in violence and they're not professional fighters, they fight because it's their job, be it a job in the military, police, private bodyguard, etc.
and although size is a factor, in a real life street fight the bigger guy is just as vulnerable as anyone else. the big guy can easily have his windpipe crushed, he can have his eye plucked out, he can get shanked, hit with a brick, etc. sport is one thing life and death on the street is another.
and yes guys challenge world class fighters, i'm not saying all the time but it happens, whether the person challenging is stupid or not, it does happen.
and also to add to this, i was talking with a friend of mine and he was telling me that he was out one night and tyson was in the same club as me, 3 dudes at separate times tried to get close to tyson to start shit with him, why? one) they think they're tough and want to try and prove it, and two) if they lost they could try and sue, sad to say but that is what some demented minds try and do......................
but don't kid yourselves that only professional fighters are the toughest guys in the world.
Man, you've been watching boxing since '76 and you fought in the '97 gloves. What, you mean you were in your 40' or 50's fighting in '97. Or you were still in your diapers in '76 and already knew how to read(lmao).
I was 2 in 76' and my 1st memories are SRL w/his big afro in the olympics. Obviously I could not read, nor do I remember details about the fight. But read alot during the 80's. Fought in the am's when I was 23. Watch your mouth and show some respect.
When your a man and get :owned: you should take your lumps and respect it. Naturally a child would get offensive :bottle:
That's funny because the last fight I saw that writers even bothered putting in the newspaper was the de la hoya vs mayweather fight, and It took up only a fraction of the space on the page, whereas the rest of the columns were typically filled with football/basketball/hockey, as it usually is.
Young man....I've been watching boxing since 76' ok. Nothing has changed newspaper wise. Its always been like that...hardly shit in the paper and the rest filled w/other sports. We've had local boxers here make the front page several times a year. Scott Pemberton...Ray Oliviera...Jason Pires...Marvin Hagler...etc. When I fought in the 97' gloves my article was on the front page.
You might not remember how frustrating finding anything out about boxing was before the net. There was always hardly anything in the papers.
The net and forums like this make boxing alive 1000%
Boxing is on more stations that it ever has. THeres more J.O. fights than ever before. 2.1 Million ppv buys is a record!
Boxing is far from dead...
Theres white guys out there. And for the record: Pavlik will K JT out.
That's funny because the last fight I saw that writers even bothered putting in the newspaper was the de la hoya vs mayweather fight, and It took up only a fraction of the space on the page, whereas the rest of the columns were typically filled with football/basketball/hockey, as it usually is.
Boxing is on more stations that it ever has. Theres more J.O. fights than ever before. Tons of Russians...come on. 2.1 Million ppv buys is a record!
Boxing is far from dead...
Theres white guys out there. And for the record: Pavlik will K JT out.
Mexico hadnt had national tv boxing since the days of Chavez(and eraly Morales), now we even got the Cotto Judah PPV.
Castillo Hatton today....
every OMar Chavez JC Chavez jr fight.....
hell, every card that has a mexican.........
boxing wont ever die...
thats got to be the lamest thing i've read in a while. first off, every HW or publically known boxer has met up with some tough guy in the streets or in jail who wanted a shot at them and made their intentions clear, thats what happens when people know that you're a fighter, they want to fight you, the common person would never even think about it. guys in prison wanted to fight tyson all the time, even out of prison when he goes out on the town, plus there are a lot tougher guys in the world other than those who fight professionally.
secondly, boxing is marred with corruption, all the way from fixed fights to shady promoters to shady judges to shady sanctioning bodies and greedy fighters who won't make the best fights because they hide behind money and/or location. not to mention it seems now every fight is a PPV, soon Wednesday and Friday night fights on ESPN will be PPV, i'm just saying but it wouldn't surprise me if they tried some bullshit like that.
plus anyone in there right mind wouldn't fear a professional fighter, they touch anyone in any other way other than a pat on the back or a handshake, they'd get sued. pertaining to violence.
now a days they would get either sued or shot.......................
boxing isnt declining because no one fears HW's or any fighter for that matter, it's declining because it's being whored out by too many crooks and greedy people.......................
HAHA your kidding right? no one in their right mind would ever fuck with the heavyweight champion, or any heavyweight in general. Only wannabe tough guys would be dumb enough to do that. Did you know that when tyson was in jail, he knocked out the "big man" in jail?? no one fucked with him after that. I read that in an article here on this site. No one is as tough as a heavyweight, that's just ridiculous. Big behemoths who are used to getting hit by hardass punches then the typical street thug is used, would always kick anyones ass on the street. Like Shannon Briggs for instance, THAT GUYS FUCKIN HUGE!!! he kicked a linebackers ass in a club and busted his eye up with just one punch. Tell me, do you honestly believe any 135-145 lb guy has the ability to do that?? hell no!!
haha back in the old days if a heavyweight champion got sued, he could easily beat the rap through "inside connections" (aka don king), but that was when the heavyweight championship was still a coveted prize unlike now. Besides if someone gets their ass kicked due to provoking another person, the courts normally take the case VERY lightly.
no average guys gives a shit about robberies or corruption when majority of big fights are by little men.
OK RonnieColeman. You know that guy your named after? Ronnie Coleman? Shane Mosely would absolutely knock him out cold on the street. You might have trouble believing this but it is 100% true.
How the hell could you compare the lower weight divisions to "children slugging it out"? That is just ridiculous and I'm not even going to comment on it.
You say that the UFC is successful because the fighters are huge, cut up, and mean. Do you not realise that UFC is marketed primarily around the lower weight divisions? This is something that UFC has been able to do successfully and boxing hasn't. The biggest stars in MMA are all south of heavyweight, except for Randy Couture, who just moved up.
The one valid point you made is that the heavyweight division is a major major key to success in boxing, and yes it does need to get cleaned up. Title unification and getting the top guys with the belts to fight each other is necessary. There have been phases like this before in the heavyweight division, and the division is still reeling from the uncertainty that was left when Lewis chose to retire as the undisiputed heavyweight champion.
shane mosely would have to grow a couple more inches taller so he can even land those hooks to begin with..haha Ronnies huge ass muscles would absorb each and everyone of those punches, he wouldn't even blink. All it would take is one shot to drop mosely.
you say the UFC is marketed primarily around lower weight fighters, I agree. The difference is these supposed "lower weight" fighters are actually BIG when compared to the welt/light. boxers. A welterweight fighter in the ufc is twice the size of a welt. boxer, which is why they're so easy to market. When people see MMArtists they think to themselves "damn I wish I was that big then I could kick anyones ass"; and when they see a lowerweight boxer they'll be like "shit that guy looks malnourished, I'd hate to be in his shoes, he probably couldn't even bench a plate".
Like I said before I like boxing , mainly anything above super middleweight, and I respect these warriors for what they do, but you can't expect to rely on the lower weight division to bring boxing back to mainstream popularity, cuz it just aint gonna happen. It would be like enjoying a good scrap out by a couple of high school kids, but in the back of your head you know you could beat both their asses in a fight.
But who said boxing is dead?
Just because its not on the front page of american news papers?
I repeat, it's big in Europe, it is far from dead, if anything it is just on the rise, because no longer are the only heavies some germans who keep getting KOed by Americans.
Now the problem in the states is that there are no American champs. Simple as that.
Very well said.
Boxing being dead is a claim of the media. Boxing is not dead, it is just not as popular as before. The media's job is to turn everything into extremes. Making level headed points does not get attention and does no sell newspapers. Statements like BOXING IS DEAD, are more likely to attract attention, then BOXING ISN'T AS POPULAR AS IT WAS 8 years ago.
In fact, these message boards are a perfect example of this phenomenon. Often somebody will make a nice well thought out post to start a thread, and people won't really participate and it won't get a lot of attention. A thread like this is already getting a lot of replies when the author makes outrageous statements.
But who said boxing is dead?
Just because its not on the front page of american news papers?
I repeat, it's big in Europe, it is far from dead, if anything it is just on the rise, because no longer are the only heavies some germans who keep getting KOed by Americans.
Now the problem in the states is that there are no American champs. Simple as that. Very good Pernt :beerchug:
But who said boxing is dead?
Just because its not on the front page of american news papers?
I repeat, it's big in Europe, it is far from dead, if anything it is just on the rise, because no longer are the only heavies some germans who keep getting KOed by Americans.
Now the problem in the states is that there are no American champs. Simple as that. Very good Pernt :beerchug:
But who said boxing is dead?
Just because its not on the front page of american news papers?
I repeat, it's big in Europe, it is far from dead, if anything it is just on the rise, because no longer are the only heavies some germans who keep getting KOed by Americans.
Now the problem in the states is that there are no American champs. Simple as that.
If Wlad were an American black guy he would be one of the most popular athletes in this country. As KAYJAY said to my post...you are SSSOOOOO RIGHT!:yeah:
This is sooooTrue
It's just the opposite out here in Sacto, CAl...Whenever a white is ia victor over a black...The Sacbee hides it, or worse yet, doesn't even print it...but when 2 minorities are gonna fight, or if one wins,,,,the sports section has it clearly shown..same for other sports...Those CRYBABY Williams sisters in tennis....when Sharapova, the white blonde Russian, beat Serena in Wimbleton...it was inside in a small article, as was her 2nd victory over Serena as well,, BUT when the Williams sisters even make the semis =
WOW FRONT PAGE COVERAGES...When White USA Lindsay Davenport beat Venus and Serena BOTH insucession last year, it was no where to be found, but when Serena/Venus wins= FRONT PAGE!!
When Wlad beat Peter and Byrd= NO Coverage ( DAMN WHITE LIBERALS )
When Holyfield came back= BIG Stories...
Talk about race issues...The American press / sports writers, cannot handle foreigners winning over Americnas...especially white foreighners....
THAT is one reason why boxing aint alive...it aint printed and for the raesons above...NUFF said
This is SOOOOOOOOOOO true
WTF is he on in the original post.
Right now we have the biggest heavyweights to even step in the ring.
Wlad, Vitali, Sam, Toney(lol), Briggs...
When the fuck has the world seen bigger heavies....
Or am I missing something?
If boxing was promoted as well as UFC it would be more popular. Everyone knows this. Its not like we have a shortage of great fighters, or great fights.
...Yep, UFC can sell you some shit and make it seem to taste great right up until you actually put it in your mouth.