What would it take to save boxing?

HBO getting out of PPV. It costed $18.33 per fight. $12.50 if they shown the whole card. Yet HBO insisted that most of that money go to watching three old guys jabber on an on because HBO and TR/GBP doesn't know how to build a proper card.

yeah really I've mostly seen mismatches and freak shows (on Versus) so much credit for having that great Cruiser weight clash. well yeah maybe people's standards for PPV are too high. but I'll say this again, $55 isn't exactly chump change ... when Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer made the comparison of the Dream Fight to the Super Bowl .. and sure there maybe some truths, but Schaefer forgot one thing .. the Super Bowl has never cost $55 to watch. sorry to sound like a broken record but I just can't look past the $50+ asking price. and yeah putting the Dream Fight into perspective after it's all set and done, it really wasn't all that bad .. it could lead to a DLH retirement, and maybe usher in the post DLH boxing era. then again maybe not, but hey it's a hope. your totally right ... there is pretty much no winning on PPV under cards ... if there blowouts, complaints about the lack of competitive match making long drawn out decisions = tedious and boring. I won't go as calling the year Great, but taking the year into perspective, if you can look back on it .. there were certainly plenty of good fights this year such as Marquez/Vazquez 3, Pacquiao/Marquez 2, Diaz/Campbell, Pavlik/Taylor 2, of course Cotto/Margarito, and more recently Pacquiao/De La Hoya, Cunningham-Adamek. IMO not great, but probably not as bad as it's made to look by some. **the Campbell/Guzman cancellation was a real downer IMO, but this year had it's highs and lows

yeah that's a hell of a Free HBO line up you posted and all the bouts certainly catch my interest .. particularly Mosley/Margarito and Berto/Collazo speaking of FREE, non PPV bouts .. Cunningham/Adamek last night was awesome. man o man what an exciting bout. De La Hoya and Pacquiao can get credit for being on PPV in the "biggest fight of the year" but big props should be given to Versus for coming through with one of the more exciting fights of the year. not too often a Championship fight is seen on basic able. anyway it's a good idea for HBO to cut back on PPV as HBO had a PPV every month this year except for April, May and August ... & besides do we really need to see David Diaz on a PPV card? I'd have to think the low PPV buys for Pavlik/Hopkins and Diaz/Pacquiao made the people at HBO put this whole PPV thing into a bit of perspective. but I took an entirely different stance your right about there probably being too many PPV complaints however look at it from HBO's perspective .. if they can get over a Mill buys with a shitty under card why not put in some more $$$ for better quality fighters on the under cards? then again why bother putting effort into match making anyway .. people don't care all that much toward under cards (casual fans) but is watching the "biggest fight of the year" even with a shitty under card worth the asking price? I mean sure it's the biggest, but doesn't mean it's the best. Adamek/Cunningham had 3 times less fan fare that the Dream Fight did, and IMO it was 5x as entertaining as Pacquiao/DLH. I'm really happy with the Versus network putting on that great fight last night, you had the legitimate #1 vs #2 in the division fighting on basic cable. I really hope Versus can keep the momentum into the next year, the only way for that to happen people need to tune in and make boxing a good investment for the network. About the PPV I think I'm just not looking for so much, after "The Bite" "Delahoya running the last 3 rounds" and "The Draw" I think a big PPV without controversy and a clear winner is a great thing for the sport. I think Pacquiao vs DLH ended up being better for the sport then Mayweather vs DLH, sure the undercard were blowouts but casual fans like to see fights ending. If the fights would go to the decision people would still bitch about the undercard even if the fights were entertaining. I think boxing fans have been looking at the glass half empty and getting carried away, this has been a great year for boxing IMO.

calslappy shouldn't even be talking when most of his fights against good fighters end up in pathetic decisions.

The alphabets actually help boxing. More titles = more title fights, and more title fights means more $$$. Boxing needs exposure, that's what it needs.

The fortune of any sport regardless of its method will always run in cycles. Some years will see the best it can offer (Ali, Liston, Frazier, Foreman etc...) and others something less. The reason can generally be put down to uneven distribution of talent. The global pool of boxers (and most other sports excluding soccer, which has a pool the size of the universe) isn't capable of producing two dozen "greats" each year to do battle. And so they come through in dribs and drabs. Wihch means memorable eras and others less so. Boxing has survived in the past when it's gone through quiet eras. It will surely survive in the future. It certainly DOES NOT need "saving".

It's already been confirmed that HBO will cut back big time on PPVs next year, there isn't one scheduled for the first 3 months. HBO already has scheduled Margarito vs Mosley Berto vs Collazo Martinez vs Greene Mayorga vs Angulo Funeka vs Campbell Also both Diaz and Marquez have agreed to fight, that fight would also not be on PPV but HBO. Winky Wright will return on HBO against one of these guys Abraham,Kessler or Williams. I agree that the quality for the PPVs has to go up, I paid for DLH vs Pacquiao and although the under card turned out to be a dud. Being a hardcore boxing fan it was well worth the price seeing the biggest fight of the year in HD. yeah that's a hell of a Free HBO line up you posted and all the bouts certainly catch my interest .. particularly Mosley/Margarito and Berto/Collazo speaking of FREE, non PPV bouts .. Cunningham/Adamek last night was awesome. man o man what an exciting bout. De La Hoya and Pacquiao can get credit for being on PPV in the "biggest fight of the year" but big props should be given to Versus for coming through with one of the more exciting fights of the year. not too often a Championship fight is seen on basic able. anyway it's a good idea for HBO to cut back on PPV as HBO had a PPV every month this year except for April, May and August ... & besides do we really need to see David Diaz on a PPV card? I'd have to think the low PPV buys for Pavlik/Hopkins and Diaz/Pacquiao made the people at HBO put this whole PPV thing into a bit of perspective. but I took an entirely different stance your right about there probably being too many PPV complaints however look at it from HBO's perspective .. if they can get over a Mill buys with a shitty under card why not put in some more $$$ for better quality fighters on the under cards? then again why bother putting effort into match making anyway .. people don't care all that much toward under cards (casual fans) but is watching the "biggest fight of the year" even with a shitty under card worth the asking price? I mean sure it's the biggest, but doesn't mean it's the best. Adamek/Cunningham had 3 times less fan fare that the Dream Fight did, and IMO it was 5x as entertaining as Pacquiao/DLH.

Simple! ONE title, ONE champion! Screw the WBAssholes, the WBConeheads, the IBFarts, the WBOutcasts, and every alphabetic shitheads out there, and join THE RING MAGAZINE

i dont think its dying but it needs better matchmaking. better undercards. and people actually fighting each other like the welterweight scene. and i think old boxers need to give way to the young guys. i think hopkins destroying pavlik sucked for boxing. even though i enjoyed the hell out of watching it live.

well yeah getting the stream for free ... then complaining about how much the cards suck is kinda bitch like. . but are you telling me that the Calzaghe/Jones fight card for example was great match making? Hell I've probably had trips to the bathroom that have been more eventful then some of these under card fights .. the Salita bout, Judah's fight .. Christ everything seemed to just drag. and for the record I didn't buy the card, but if I did, I'd feel like an absolute fool for it. $50 for that .. what the hell? and the Dream Fight having a total of just 3 fights is also pretty lousy IMO. Is that good bang for your buck ... 3 fights for $55? sure Pain there probably is too much bitching. but taking into consideration the asking price for most HBO PPV's which is usually around $50 .. if not over which is not exactly chump change maybe HBO should increase the quality (just a suggestion) I've read a post so delusional that a person on here actually thinks going to the movies is = in price to buying a Boxing PPV. yeah it's close in price comparison ... only if you spend $45 on candy + popcorn. so is there bitching yes. But I don't think it's totally un-necessary. It's already been confirmed that HBO will cut back big time on PPVs next year, there isn't one scheduled for the first 3 months. HBO already has scheduled Margarito vs Mosley Berto vs Collazo Martinez vs Greene Mayorga vs Angulo Funeka vs Campbell Also both Diaz and Marquez have agreed to fight, that fight would also not be on PPV but HBO. Winky Wright will return on HBO against one of these guys Abraham,Kessler or Williams. I agree that the quality for the PPVs has to go up, I paid for DLH vs Pacquiao and although the under card turned out to be a dud. Being a hardcore boxing fan it was well worth the price seeing the biggest fight of the year in HD.

maybe you guys watch PPV you pay alot of money, but we people in Indonesia watch the same PPV you guys watch for free, our local station bought the license, so we watch it for free. and every big fight are always showed in that TV, no matter Showtime or HBO. The example of the match aired are Pacquiao vs De La Hoya, Pavlik vs Hopkins, Calzaghe vs RJJ, Taylor vs Lacy, etc

boxing aint dying

On a serious note, boxing needs less fickle fans. This forum sounds like a bunch of washer woman with how much complaining goes on, people stream the PPV's then bitch about how much the cards suck. ******************************************** well yeah getting the stream for free ... then complaining about how much the cards suck is kinda bitch like. . but are you telling me that the Calzaghe/Jones fight card for example was great match making? Hell I've probably had trips to the bathroom that have been more eventful then some of these under card fights .. the Salita bout, Judah's fight .. Christ everything seemed to just drag. and for the record I didn't buy the card, but if I did, I'd feel like an absolute fool for it. $50 for that .. what the hell? and the Dream Fight having a total of just 3 fights is also pretty lousy IMO. Is that good bang for your buck ... 3 fights for $55? sure Pain there probably is too much bitching. but taking into consideration the asking price for most HBO PPV's which is usually around $50 .. if not over which is not exactly chump change maybe HBO should increase the quality (just a suggestion) I've read a post so delusional that a person on here actually thinks going to the movies is = in price to buying a Boxing PPV. yeah it's close in price comparison ... only if you spend $45 on candy + popcorn. so is there bitching yes. But I don't think it's totally un-necessary.

do you have any idea how many people watched the cowboys vs steelers game sunday? 25.7 million viewers. i'm just wanting to know what would get boxing those numbers. and for you people in denial of the decline of boxing, know this.....womens tennis, cycling, horse racing, and university ROWING!!! are all watched more then boxing is now. (wiki said so) it won't be saved... it will be RETURNED TO ITS RIGHTFUL SPOT AS IT WAS BY A POWERFUL KING OF THE SPORT!

How is boxing "dying" if 1.25 million people payed to watch DLH v. Pacquiao the other day? do you have any idea how many people watched the cowboys vs steelers game sunday? 25.7 million viewers. i'm just wanting to know what would get boxing those numbers. and for you people in denial of the decline of boxing, know this.....womens tennis, cycling, horse racing, and university ROWING!!! are all watched more then boxing is now. (wiki said so)

It needs a figure that can capture the imagination of the whole world on many different levels... Boxing must be not last but a VERY CLOSE second to whatever that stars main goal is... After he grows in it the role of champion then it will be on his shoulders to grow into the FACe of boxing. It's going to take alot of hype.. and way more advertising that it has been in the past. Of course he has to be liked or maybe not liked but cherished by the fans. His purpose outside the ring must make people like him as a person... This mixed with a few other things and you will have the KING of boxing.] Of course he must be WINNING while doing all of this. And it won't be saved... it will be RETURNED TO ITS RIGHTFUL SPOT AS IT WAS!

I guess we're suppose to say put boxing gloves on their feet and legalized dry humping, or maybe put the fighters on a trampoline. Get the **** outta here with that saved shit. MMA and boxing is like the tortoise and the hare story.

it doesnt need to be saved boxing is fine but it could be a lot better! - I would take away all the phony belts and just have one champion per division/ - I wouldnt do away with the PPV fights i think they are fine its just i would do away with the fights on regular HBO and showtime. Save the huge level fights for PPV and air those lower level type fights on free network TV like NBC or CBS. - Promote on free TV like crazy so everyone knows when the fights will happen whether they care about boxing or not cause just by checkin it out its how your lure casual fans to your sport.

We need the Undertaker some guys with mohawks trible tattoos and piercings. On a serious note, boxing needs less fickle fans. This forum sounds like a bunch of washer woman with how much complaining goes on, people stream the PPV's then bitch about how much the cards suck.

fighters that fight and stop all the once a year bullshit. it seems even the up and comers are fighting less and less. how are you suppose to stay on top of your game with 1 or 2 fights a year?