Many people allude to the downfall of boxing.
I legitimately think boxing is going to rise given the current crop of prospects and young boxers.
People always mention the demise of boxing but it has been and still will be around.
Mayweather vs Pacquiao was the peak for this generation...
BUT
I think that within the next 3-5 years we are going to see the best boxing we've since the late 80s and early 90s....
Boxing has lost a lot of athletes due to other sports offering more money
But I believe the crop of prospects that are out there now will carry the sport....
I think revenue streams will go up....
I'm looking at history until now and I can tell you boxing is in a very good place right now....
The era we're in now is similar to the Hagler/Hearns/Duran/Leonard era...It's not quite that in terms of absolute all time greats, but we have stable of fighters out there to make this one of the Golden Eras when wer're long and gone...
Look at the possible combinations/matchups:
Heavyweight
Klitschko (don't know if I spelled that right)
-Joshua
-Wilder
-Fury
-Stiverne
-Parker
-Ortiz
-Jennings
Cruise
Glowacki
Usyk
Cunningham
Huck
Lebedev
Ga..(there is this other guy I can't think of his name but it will come to me)
Light Heavy
-Kovalev
-Ward
-Chilemba
-Cleverly
-Fonfara
Super Mid
-JCC (major reach on my part)
-Gilberto Ramirez
-Degale
-Dirrell Brothers
-Jack
-Bute
Middle
-GGG
-Jacobs
-BJ Saunders
-Eubank Jr.
Jr. MiD
-Charlo Twinns
-Andrade
-Canelo
-Smith (Liam)
-Julian Williams
-Ali
-Brook
Welter Mix 140-147
-Spence
-Porter
-Postol
-Thurman
-Pacquiao
-Crawford
Featherweight and below mix
-Lomachenko
-Walters
-Donaire
-Rigo
-Gamboa
-Chocolatito
-Inoue
-Santacruz
-Frampton
-Quigg
I'm just going off the top of my head, but this is a golden era....
I left many off I know...
There is so much potential....
somebody better always comes along....
May be true, but how can you determine better when when these mofos reach the top, they start avoiding tough fights?
Boxing has a hard time making stars. A lot of the fighters that are big now are in their 30's and wont be around in 3-5 years.
It will go as far as Canelo, who is the biggest draw. After that it's going to hit a dark period where you're going to get some good fighters but with zero star quality.
Mismatched fights should never be shown on tv. TV stations should reject them. The commission should declare them illegal and dangerous. Fans should be allowed to file a lawsuit in case the Salka fighter is disabled.
There needs to be a greater incentive for good fights to happen at all levels not just the elite. Ultimately I guess networks need to make a stand and not show tune up fights of major stars.
The best fight I watched recently was Joe Murray (British former Olympian a very good boxer but essentially a domestic level guy) against a Danish guy who was also a decent amateur. At first I thought I was enjoying it because it was at slightly lower level than the elite stuff and both guys were getting hit with big shots. But that wasn't why I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it because it was a genuine 50/50 and I didn't know who was going to win.
Simple stuff really. But it doesn't happen.
Groves vs Murray was another pick em fight. As was Crolla vs Linares but these fights are so isolated it is a joke.
People have been critical of Hopkins fighting again. It says something that that fight for me is legitimately intriguing because it is not a foregone conclusion
Yeah, in 3-5 years, boxers will fight once per year. In 5-7 years, they'll exclusively fight via Twitter, where Adrien "2 Brain Cells" Broner will be champ. F'ng progress...
You're assuming those people will fight each other.
We've already seen they don't want anything to do with each other and just want to fight their own individual fights. Lara's latest fights: Ishe Smith, Rodriguez, Zaveck, Martirosyan 2. It's as if Williams, Andrade, Charlo bros didn't exist. It's a f#kd up sport.
I tend to agree. The talent is definitely there for a boxing resurgence, the platforms are what concern me. Hopefully PBC and HBO continue to invest in the sport and expand the reach to a younger, larger audience..