Is boxing killing die hard fans?

All the HBO PPVs have had undercards going from good to great in 2011. Nothing more annoying then a 'woe is me' boxing fan. I get the impression that people think that they aren't real boxing fans until they trash the current state of the sport and the contemporary fighters. Belts are meaningless, PPVs are necessary for the big fights and most of the important fights take place. Is it perfect? Far from it, but there was never a time when prizefighting didn't have some corruption or nonsense going on. If you can't accept that then this sport is not for you. Why exactly are PPV's important? For decades boxing had no PPV and was the most popular sport in America along with baseball. It's not the fighters bringing the sport down, it's all the divisions and champions from different groups that we allow to be legitimate.

Sure, that's another big problem. But if America had a superstar heavyweight right now--say if the K-Bros were Americans--there is no doubt in my mind that the entire sport would be doing much better in the USA. There's always been big fights in other weight divisions, and stars like Sugar Ray Leonard, etc., but it is the heavyweight division that makes the sport go--or not. And it has little or nothing to do with how good or talented the K-Bros are. Americans are not ready to embrace two "Russian" champions (no distinction is made between Russian and Ukrainian here). Before now, America has never had to deal with a heavyweight division that didn't have an American superstar in the history of boxing. Asking Americans to embrace two guys that they were trained by Rocky movies to dislike is asking too much. And the old guard of the American boxing media like Bert Sugar plays on those old stereotypes and keeps them alive. What a load of horseshit. This is what you want to believe, that doesn't make it the truth.

Boxing has taken a big hit in America because "boxing" was always synonymous with the heavyweight division, and until the last decade or so that division was always owned by Americans. That ended with Lewis and the K-Bros. So naturally now that the division is no longer under American ownership and doesn't look like it will be for some time, if ever again, the sport is having troubles there. Nobody likes giving up something they thought was theirs and only theirs, least of all Americans. To die hard fans the heavyweight division isn't the end all of boxing and nationalism doesn't come into play. Amongst die hard fans boxing is fine. Amongst the common fan...not so much. And this isn't due to any particular division, talent levels in all divisions go up and down. It's because we now have 17 weight classes and 4 major titles, not to mention diamond belts, champion emeritus, etc., etc.. The common fan just isn't buying into this BS and has lost much interest in the sport. Luckily for the promoters and ABC orgs they still have the die hards who will look past these things. Sadly though its a double edged sword. If we quit buying boxing dies. If we keep buying they keep peddling us bullshit. :dunno:

Also $60 for a crappy PPV..where all matters its one fight? All the HBO PPVs have had undercards going from good to great in 2011. Nothing more annoying then a 'woe is me' boxing fan. I get the impression that people think that they aren't real boxing fans until they trash the current state of the sport and the contemporary fighters. Belts are meaningless, PPVs are necessary for the big fights and most of the important fights take place. Is it perfect? Far from it, but there was never a time when prizefighting didn't have some corruption or nonsense going on. If you can't accept that then this sport is not for you.

I need a real point of view here,not your classic"If you don't like it don't watch it" kinda crap.I been i boxing fan for 25 years(I'm 34),but been a die hard fan of boxing for 15 years.I been to about 10 championship fights and like 30 shows overall.Here is my question;where is boxing heading?.The reason i am asking because i cannot believe why just happened tonight in HBO.Bronier's attitude and skills are far from good and the fighter he fought,for a championship is a joke.Canelo looked like he was passing out from exhaustion and he is being called a "great champion".Fights that need to be done are not happening because the marquee fighter don't want to lose that marketability.Fights from telefutura are not longer any good,there are just a showcase for specific fighters.Fighters are being caught with illegal substances or worse,Fighter fighting someone with a 15-15-0 records.Judges robbing fighters(not marquez if you dont want to go there)Catch weights seem to be the "NEW" thing now,even fighters are acting like jerks inside and outside of the ring and the list goes on and on and on.What is the future of Boxing,I am in a point where i am ready to throw the towel and be done with boxing and i know i am not alone here.I will like to know what the real fans from here think,am i being to harsh or too dramatic,or that is a sentiment people can relate too?..Please keep it serious and tell me your thoughts.. Don't worry. Pac and Arum will save boxing....

Boxing has taken a big hit in America because "boxing" was always synonymous with the heavyweight division, and until the last decade or so that division was always owned by Americans. That ended with Lewis and the K-Bros. So naturally now that the division is no longer under American ownership and doesn't look like it will be for some time, if ever again, the is sport having troubles there. Nobody likes giving up something they thought was theirs and only theirs, least of all Americans.You are right....People that dont know anything all they say who is the heavyweight champion now..I tell them there are way too many weight divisions to like,But see,that is my point,you have constantly have to defend boxing,and at the end,they are not that off.Here is an example:Why is pacquaio not fighting mayweather or viceversa(Those are the only names they know),so you have to go through all the drama from both parties and explained,and then you realize,they are right,why aren't they fighting?..know what i mean?

isn't Brock vs Lesnar the same person! Where do these punks come from! OMG!!!!!! Calm down..that guy made a mistake..But it if anything it takes one to know one right?..punk...

What has been killing the "view" of the sport is the lack of competitive fights, which a part of it is actually HBO buying or holding ridiculous fights..ie almost any of the berto mismatches. However i really think that this one problem is going to be changing now that HBO's budget has been greatly reduced and that Golden boys contract with them has ended(canelo fight was the last). i say HBO cause that's the Main programer. And no one has every said Canelo is a great champion....he is very popular but i have never heard anyone say great. He is only 21 yrs old and this is the first time i have seen him gases........people need to just let off him a bit. why is everyone is critical of everything these days? Also i must add. although i was not a huge De La Hoya fan. i miss his desire to fight the best, that's someone who fought everyone. too many divas in boxing these days that want everything there way.You must not be mexican,I am.Ask 50 mexicans(not real fans but casual)and they will tell you how "great" el canelo is..I dont have a problem with him at all,he is nothing more than someone who is trying to make the best of it.The people that surrounds him and promoters are the one i despised..

This is very true. I remember a year or so ago, I created a thread on Sherdog saying MMA would get much better fights if the UFC didn't have a monoply. This was before Zuffa bought out Strikeforce. At the time, Strikeforce had a list of fighters and champions as did the UFC, but they couldn't fight because the UFC had so many stipulations on it's fighters contracts. I basically said, if the UFC was set up like boxing with individual promoters, we would've seen Brock vs Lesnar, Overreem vs Cain, Melendez vs Edgar, ect a long time ago. But you're right, that is one perk about boxing. isn't Brock vs Lesnar the same person! Where do these punks come from! OMG!!!!!!

get back 15 round fights I thought about that..but i think fights between elite fighters would be even harder to make.I really agree that this boxing business its hard and only a few make it and those who do,want to milk it as much as they can..But do you think Casual fans are the one the make boxing the most money,instead of the people that know the history of the sport?. Someone like Canelo,really young and really green(IMO) its packing arenas of people that don care who he fights as long as he wins,but if you look closely you can see he is not that great(IMO once again)...I am just tired of the matchmaking business of protecting the golden egg,that's all..

Dont change your tune now sucker! You got caught with the bottle in your mouth, now you want change your tone. Stop crying punk! I think I am missing something here.How am i Changing my tone or my view?..please tell me where do i have mentioned ufc or any sport..i am talking here only Boxing..also,How old are you?,since you continue with this kid or boy monikers..I will like to add i not only love boxing but trained for 5 years in my hometown of mexico,so i consider myself concierge and a fan...Why are you calling people names and who are you?..People like you is the one that are killing boxing s well,always try to pretend they are hardcore,but at the end they are purely hardtypers..Take it easy and breathe,if you dont agree fine,but you could get beat up if you talk to someone that way on the streets...Back to the point..You think Boxing is NOT killing die hard,knowledgeable fans?

get back 15 round fights

What has been killing the "view" of the sport is the lack of competitive fights, which a part of it is actually HBO buying or holding ridiculous fights..ie almost any of the berto mismatches. However i really think that this one problem is going to be changing now that HBO's budget has been greatly reduced and that Golden boys contract with them has ended(canelo fight was the last). i say HBO cause that's the Main programer. And no one has every said Canelo is a great champion....he is very popular but i have never heard anyone say great. He is only 21 yrs old and this is the first time i have seen him gases........people need to just let off him a bit. why is everyone is critical of everything these days? Also i must add. although i was not a huge De La Hoya fan. i miss his desire to fight the best, that's someone who fought everyone. too many divas in boxing these days that want everything there way.

If you look at it like that I guess you're right. But where do you cross the line? Same thing applies to college football. They should've implemented playoffs a long time ago, but instead choose to make millions off individual bowl games. At the end of the day, no "real" champion is crowned. As fans (hardcore or casual), at what point do you say "I'm not paying for this anymore"? There's nothing boxing can do as a whole to completely turn me off because boxing is not a unified entity. The sport is so fragmented that even if I'm fed up with the bullsh*t from one promoter, sanctioning body or network, I can move on to the other ones. The lack of unification and regulation means the quality is inconsistent but you have a great variety of choice (unlike the NFL, NBA, MLB and even the UFC).

Hardcore fans will always be ignored because the bulk of the money is generated by mainstream fans. You can't blame fighters for choosing money over glory and you can't blame promoters for protecting their investments and measuring the risk/reward ratio. Don't hate the player hate the game. You gotta look past the bullshiit and appreciate the sport.

I am in California and believe me,I watch show time ,hbo,gala vision ,espn Friday nights,telefutura,etc,etc.and we always comment how much better show time fights are,but my point here is an overall.I never mentioned or even implied that boxing is dying,but more like what boxing is doing to us,the hardcore fans,that knows names,stats,etc,that don't care about names or star power,but more like,who might be the next champ... honestly tough,people think boxing 1st network that comes to mind is hbo. That's why they walk away disapointed. Even espn, gal vision & telefutura puts on better fights than hbo. Boxing is fine if hbo isn't the 1st network that you tune into. But a lot of folks won't know that. Overall boxing is fine if hbo is tuned out.

I need a real point of view here,not your classic"If you don't like it don't watch it" kinda crap.I been i boxing fan for 25 years(I'm 34),but been a die hard fan of boxing for 15 years.I been to about 10 championship fights and like 30 shows overall.Here is my question;where is boxing heading?.The reason i am asking because i cannot believe why just happened tonight in HBO.Bronier's attitude and skills are far from good and the fighter he fought,for a championship is a joke.Canelo looked like he was passing out from exhaustion and he is being called a "great champion".Fights that need to be done are not happening because the marquee fighter don't want to lose that marketability.Fights from telefutura are not longer any good,there are just a showcase for specific fighters.Fighters are being caught with illegal substances or worse,Fighter fighting someone with a 15-15-0 records.Judges robbing fighters(not marquez if you dont want to go there)Catch weights seem to be the "NEW" thing now,even fighters are acting like jerks inside and outside of the ring and the list goes on and on and on.What is the future of Boxing,I am in a point where i am ready to throw the towel and be done with boxing and i know i am not alone here.I will like to know what the real fans from here think,am i being to harsh or too dramatic,or that is a sentiment people can relate too?..Please keep it serious and tell me your thoughts.. This cry baby sucker a$$ punk. lol go watch UFC, boxing is for Grown MEN!

I think idiots are killing boxing as well.When did I ever mentioned UFC or mma?.what tattoos?haveu ever heard of tapia or collazo or even pacquaio?little young?as compare to whom..See,I posted this thread to get real inside and opinions and most of them understand that maybe boxing is not dying,and I never mentioned that,but many feel they are being taken advantage of,paying high ppv cards or watching bad fights....Please read and understand what am saying before you go off like you ran out of crack.. Dont change your tune now sucker! You got caught with the bottle in your mouth, now you want change your tone. Stop crying punk!

Are you stateside, if you are, forget about hbo. Showtime easily & I mean easily is the better network to have, if your a real boxing fan. Friday night fights absolutely steal the show. Young up-n-comers are matched tough. You don't see guys like Broner fighting tomatoe cans on showbox, real talk. Boxing is alive & well on showtime. I tune into hbo just because. But I look forward to showtime events. There aren't many mismatches over there. If Canelo, JCC or Broner were on showtime they'd have to $hit or get off the pot, on hbo they get to hog the pot while other guys really need to $hit but can't cause of them.I am in California and believe me,I watch show time ,hbo,gala vision ,espn Friday nights,telefutura,etc,etc.and we always comment how much better show time fights are,but my point here is an overall.I never mentioned or even implied that boxing is dying,but more like what boxing is doing to us,the hardcore fans,that knows names,stats,etc,that don't care about names or star power,but more like,who might be the next champ...

Any real boxing fan knows that boxing is at an alltime high right now, and its without heavyweight power. We have more talent in every divison than we have had in the last 30 years. Each and every weight class is stacked full of young up and comers, even heavyweight have some new meat. If your to blind to see, please move on to UFC. I hate lil young *****ass dudes who cry and complain like girls. Grow some balls and man up, boxing is about drama, disaster,death,suffering,pain growth,blood,guts, shock and awe, you name it boxing has it. Its full of street people, who eles would be part of such a vilolent sport. Thats why you have so many crooks and killers in boxing, its the way its always been. If your looking for some good old boys pretending to be hood then go over to UFC. Thier full of imposters, with thier ****ed hair and tattoo's. A bunch of wannabe killers. lol I think idiots are killing boxing as well.When did I ever mentioned UFC or mma?.what tattoos?haveu ever heard of tapia or collazo or even pacquaio?little young?as compare to whom..See,I posted this thread to get real inside and opinions and most of them understand that maybe boxing is not dying,and I never mentioned that,but many feel they are being taken advantage of,paying high ppv cards or watching bad fights....Please read and understand what am saying before you go off like you ran out of crack..