"Boxing is a sport", "no, its not, boxing is a business"

I grew up watching fights with my dad, and even he would jump between "it’s a business" when a matchup fell apart to “it’s a sport” when defending a technical fighter he liked. The truth is, it’s both, athletes chasing legacy and promoters chasing money. Kind of like trying to reach the best flosports tv phone number after a bad stream. Everyone has their own angle. At the end of the day, we just want the good fights.

I get both sides. Boxing definitely started as a sport, but these days it feels more like a business. The big fights are all about promotions, pay-per-view numbers, and money deals. Still, at its core, it’s a sport built on skill, discipline, and passion. The business just took over most of the spotlight.

Boxing as a business? Totally agree. It’s not just about skill anymore; it’s about marketability, politics, and hype. Fighters today have to sell themselves as much as they fight. Even when betting on matches, you can feel that side of it — I use 1win sometimes for boxing odds since it breaks down stats and fighter histories. It really shows how much the sport has become about strategy and spectacle rather than pure competition. But honestly, that drama is what keeps it alive. It’s entertainment as much as sport.

I 100% agree with you. The stance of the fans should be to make the best, most relevant fights at all times. But guys start wanting to pull that "A-side/B-side" nonsense whenever they want to protect their favorite fighters from smoke. The minute a guy becomes champ, we should push for him to fight either A: The other champions in his division B: The top contenders in his division Making excuses for guys not doing that is what's wrong with boxing fandom now.

ohh nice

Which Pro Sport is not a business? In which pro sport do the participants get to pick and choose who they face?

Its both? lol As far as I know, without the sport, there is no business and I know the opposite is not true at all. And somehow that means that it is not run as a business? It may alarm you to learn that every mainstream sport is run as a business - these athletes aren't just performing for the fun of it.

It's both you muppet. Its both? lol As far as I know, without the sport, there is no business and I know the opposite is not true at all.

Sorry guys, you can't have it both ways when it suits your agenda. One on hand, whenever there is a fight that somehow doesn't get made, even though the boxing fans want it, "boxing is a business. You don't understand how these things work and all fights don't happen just because you want them to". On the other hand, when it comes time to appreciate a certain style of fighting, you know, those who are more technical in their approach as opposed to outright brawling, suddenly, the mantra changes from, "boxing is a business" to "boxing is a sport, not a violent exchange between to rock em' sock em' robots. If you want to see wild exchanges with no technique, go watch UFC". You guys flip flop more than chanclas during the summer. It's both you muppet.

lets see if manny is gonna go the floyd route or not, we'll know when he selects his next opponent. I prefer boxers who are concerned with their boxing legacy, if they keep focused on that, the $ will come (see the projections for the floyd/manny fight). all this bulls hit about business side is just an excuse. if these guys took the best challenges and won, they would have thousands to millions more fans for capturing the imagination of sports fans worldwide.

i don't know if they enjoyed but they sure didn't care about it the people that actually cared about it were the people *****in about floyd duckin fights so now that manny is doin it why can't people complain you had no problem complainin when floyd did it. so you tell us why the double standard? There is no double standard. Manny beat the guys Floyd was scared to face. The people wanted Floyd to fight Margarito and Cotto. Floyd, as usual, made excuses not to. Manny said, "lets do it", and then proceeded to beat them, and made money doing so. But check hook, which fights were not made that the people screamed for in regards to Manny? The one guy some people are wanting him to fight, is a middleweight champion, but make no bones about Floyd fighting him. Thats weird, seeing as how Floyd, who won a 154 pound title, never, ever even fought another jr. welterweight again. Another guy that people are wanting him to fight, JMM, hes already fought twice, yet hes somehow ducking him? How do you duck a guy you fought twice already? A guy who denied an initial rematch for four years? Then, we have the Shane Mosley that Manny apparently ducked. All we heard on this board was, "Mannys ducking Shane, Mannys ducking Shane". A possible fight is on the horizon, and now you cats are crying about it? Then, we get to Floyd himself, Mr. "hes an ordinary and one dimensional fighter, easy work and easy money". Yea, Mannys all that and then hes supposed to take extra drug tests that aren't even required by the real commissions because Floyd wants an "even playing field"? Get The F uck Outta Here. El Jesus, where do we read about boxing at? The sports section, or the business section? Eaner didn't illustrate **** as I know their is a mix of sport and business. The reason why I made my particular thread was to show how people love to change their stance depending on the situation. You, and other like you, all Floyd fans, are just pissed because your guy gets **** on by boxing fans, casual fans, and the press alike. Yes, boxing is a mix of sports and business, but we, the paying fans, the paying fans who allow this sport to be a business, demand that when you claim to be the best of all time, prove it against guys who are threats, not against guys from lower divisions and other guys who are past their prime. I've said it before, time and time again, Floyd had a great opportunity to put himself in the top 5 of all time. The welterweight division, when he entered it, was getting f ucking hot, burning hot. He skipped over every available opponent in that division when it was at its best. Now, for being such a historian as you so proudly love to point out, what other top 5 guy did that?

So, why is everyone mad at Bob for making Manny as much money as possible? A certain segment of fans sure enjoyed it when Floyd did it.Why the double standard? i don't know if they enjoyed but they sure didn't care about it the people that actually cared about it were the people *****in about floyd duckin fights so now that manny is doin it why can't people complain you had no problem complainin when floyd did it. so you tell us why the double standard?

So, why is everyone mad at Bob for making Manny as much money as possible? A certain segment of fans sure enjoyed it when Floyd did it. Why the double standard? I'm not mad at Manny or Bob. They are doing there job....but alas you are missing the point as always. Manny fans, (you included) hold him on a pedestal, saying thisngs like, he fights for the poeple and makes the best fights possible. All the while you deride and spit on FMJ for being honest and saying it's about the money. At least Floyd isn't bull****ting us. He's telling us to our faces most of the decisions he makes must make "business sense" first. MP on the other hand is content to keep talking **** and say he fights for the people, to make them happy, when in fact we all know he fights for money first, and many fights have nearly not been made because of his greed. ........and you guysd slurp it up, just like everything else that comes out of team MP. So stop your incessant crying you little cunt! Can't have your cake and eat it too.

boxing is a sport and sports are a buisness

How hard is it for you to understand that this sport has always had to maintain a quandry of both sport and buisness in order to attract fans and to attract casuals alike. Earner, who works for this site and within the industry did a great job of illustrating this point for you and yet, you are either too dumb or just refuse to understand that both are and always be a critical part to how this sport works. If promoters years ago would have treated their fighters with respect 70 years ago, leaving fighters with nothing while having fought their asses off sometimes 15 times in a year, you wouldnt see fighters angling for as much money as possible. Im sure you know that Ray Robinson would often threaten to pull out of fights often times on the night of the fight if he didint get his purse. There was also a french boxer, i cannot recall his name, but he fought in ireland and he was so afriad that he wouldnt get paid that he hid his money in his shorts because he knew hed either get robbed or not paid. He did this DURING THE FIGHT. Again, you make another topic to which someone else already sonned youre sorry ass and you come crying and whining about some inane point which only amounts to either youre lack of historical knowedlege on how this sport works, or an illustration of youre own stupidity. Either way, my point is...Youre a fukkin idiot. You say you been watching 25 years, yet you know fukk all about the history of the sport, and you provide very little insight other than these bullsh!t trolling posts. What this guy said...........Go fuk yourself Chingas, you dumb fuk.

Boxing is clearly a sport (or a "science" if you will) but of course it is a business. Look at every sport in the world, it's a business.

Its both to be honest, equally a sport as it is a business, just at the higher levels its treated more as a business. So, why is everyone mad at Bob for making Manny as much money as possible? A certain segment of fans sure enjoyed it when Floyd did it. Why the double standard?

Its both to be honest, equally a sport as it is a business, just at the higher levels its treated more as a business.

Why does everybody get so mad when Bob Arum makes "smart business decisions"? Isn't that his job? "Boxing is a business" Remember?

I can honestly say, ducking was way worse in the early days, and people thought floyds retirement was bad, Jim Jefferies retiring on a fukking farm to duck jack johnson was fukking awful on every level, the press was begging him to take him on and he still said "na fukk it" Boxing hasnt changed at all, infact truthfully while i feel there are bad things about the sport, its much better now than it was before, title shots for good fighters can actually happen. Like i said, anyone who knows the history knows that this sport hasnt changed at all. That's one thing I like about alphabet titles. They're annoying and corrupt and all, but at least they help high-risk/low-reward fighters get their name out there. There's more titles to choose from, and it could be used as a marketing tool. The Plastered Bastard had the WBO belt for awhile, and even before getting a big fight with Cotto, he fought Williams and got over a mil. I think Williams got a nice payday too. Of course Mosley deserves credit for fighting high-risk fighters like Forrest & Wright, but those two having belts probably helped them get those fights. They sold them as unification bouts.