why boxing is more popular in the UK than the US

Firstly, WTF is LDBC? And point number 3 is wrong. The golden age of boxing was dominated by black boxers, yet boxing was hugely popular with white audiences in the US. Likewise in the UK, non-white boxers are/were hugely popular with white audiences. The race of the boxers is irrelevant.

It relates to the bar scene :) In my town you go to a bar and everyone is playing his or hers machine while ignoring everyone else, in the UK everyone at a pub is getting drunk and looking to pick a fight with everyone else, at least that's what I see in the movies :)

I agree with the above and I wish frank warren was to step a side for new blood in the uk too because I personally think there is still room for improvement. The US really could do with a “out with the old” approach too because Haymon, Arum, Finkel etc are stuck in their old ways and marketability has changed so much.

But that doesn't explain why boxing was so hugely popular in the States during the 80's, 90's and early 2000's, when black and hispanic fighters were just as dominant as they are now. Unless America has become more, not less, racially divided since then, of course. I wouldn't know about that because I'm from the UK, and things have moved in the opposite direction over here, thank God. Look at who the President is if that doesn’t answer your question. That idiot being in office has been called US “ whitelash” The US is ridiculously divided by race and more in 2019 than in the past. Also in the past you didn’t have MMA. When MMA was dominated by Asians and Brazilians, white people stateside would rather watch backyard wrestling. Since the Ultimate Fighter and overwhelming dominance of white fighters in MMA, that’s most popular.

US whiteboys suck at boxing and white people dont want to see their own get beaten by black and brown. It’s that simple. Close thread. But that doesn't explain why boxing was so hugely popular in the States during the 80's, 90's and early 2000's, when black and hispanic fighters were just as dominant as they are now. Unless America has become more, not less, racially divided since then, of course. I wouldn't know about that because I'm from the UK, and things have moved in the opposite direction over here, thank God.

boxing was in a pretty bad place not too long ago in the UK. we had an emergence of a bunch of world champs, plus the big domestic fights were made and boxing is cheaper and more accessible than in the US. People talk about Boxing in the UK like its always been mainstream when only a few years ago it was in the same niche space that it is in in the US. The sport suffered a huge dip in popularity in the UK after it disappeared from terrestrial TV and went onto the satellite channels. It came back again in a big way after Matchroom linked with Sky and Eddie Hearn started doing what he does. The turnaround happened very quickly. Joe Calzaghe was virtually unkown throughout his title reign, but Froch, Groves, DeGale, who came immediately after him in the same division, became household names. There is a documentary about Calzaghe titled: "Joe Who?" because of an incident it depicts when Joe was nominated for BBC sports personality of the year. He and his dad were stopped by security at the BBC carpark gate and asked to identify themselves. Joe tells the guard his name and that he has been nominated for the award. The guard looks puzzled and asks him "Joe who?" before checking his list to see if Joe's name is on it.

US whiteboys suck at boxing and white people dont want to see their own get beaten by black and brown. It’s that simple. Close thread. That’s an American problem, ask most brits to name favourite fighters and the majority will say Benn, Eubank, naz etc etc Boxing was on terrestrial telly in those days and was well supported. What made it a niche sport was the initial move to sky. More people over the years ended up with sky tv etc etc What would save boxing in the US would be the end of alphabet belts and a UFC style organisation with only 1 champ with the best fighting the best.... will never happen

well, since i'm on someone's ignore list, i have to open a new thread for this response. i do think it's a good discussion though. truth is, Uk boxing has really blown up because of matchroom boxing, Sky sports, AND the smart and strategic promotion of fighters by eddie hearn. but that's probably too bitter of a pill for you ldbc fans to swallow. i think if you really did a deep dive, you would find that there are a few reasons: 1. relatability: in general, uk boxers are way more relatable than american boxers. that's probably because their back stories are usually told and featured intentionally. american promoters don't do that nearly enough. 2. uk boxers are generally more dignified and charismatic than american boxers. all you have to do is look at AJ, bellew, callum smith, bruno, etc vs kovalev, wilder, broner, mayweather, e.t.c. it's tough to gather crowds when you can't behave yourself in public. 3. Race also probably plays a role, although, what it really is, is culture. for boxing to become as big as it should be again in the us, you need to attract casual white male fans and suburbian families. it's just tougher when you don't have talented white american boxers. and the attitudes of the current top american boxers make it impossible. UFC mma doesn't struggle there, so they continue to do well. US whiteboys suck at boxing and white people dont want to see their own get beaten by black and brown. It’s that simple. Close thread.

boxing was in a pretty bad place not too long ago in the UK. we had an emergence of a bunch of world champs, plus the big domestic fights were made and boxing is cheaper and more accessible than in the US. People talk about Boxing in the UK like its always been mainstream when only a few years ago it was in the same niche space that it is in in the US.

i think in general the atmosphere and fans are better, not to mention the drinking culture etc plays a part. I cant remember the last time there was a good atmosphere from american fans at a boxing event, usually its always the mexicans that make a rukus. Americans in general are awful fat yanks that need to be told when to make noise because they are too busy stuffing their pie holes, last time i watched an nba game 'clap clap clap clap yourr hands' x1000 while everyone sits in general silence :lol1: I’ve always thought of American sporting events to be very corporate and soulless. However I went to a giants game last season at the met life and was surprised by the passion in the crowd. Was nowhere near the level of watching a real football match but a lot more passion than I anticipated.

Boxing has been a niche sport for a while but what has hurt it the most stateside in recent years is the emergence of the UFC. No question that the UFC is more popular than boxing and has taken some fans away from the sport. In the UK, boxing is still leaps and bounds ahead of the UFC. Other reasons have already been addressed in this thread.

It has a lot to do with the football fan culture, any half decent fighter who aligns with a club will sell out any venue. Look at Ritson from my area, borderline British level and had the arena sold out twice, had the place bouncing. I’m not buying the more sports in US theory, there’s just as many sports here and much less people to play them. Yeah I agree, as popular as boxing is becoming here, it's still a fair way down the list of sports. Football alone is an absolute monster in world sport and especially here. It takes up almost everybody's weekend and that bridge will never be close to being gapped.

It has a lot to do with the football fan culture, any half decent fighter who aligns with a club will sell out any venue. Look at Ritson from my area, borderline British level and had the arena sold out twice, had the place bouncing. I’m not buying the more sports in US theory, there’s just as many sports here and much less people to play them.

i think in general the atmosphere and fans are better, not to mention the drinking culture etc plays a part. I cant remember the last time there was a good atmosphere from american fans at a boxing event, usually its always the mexicans that make a rukus. Americans in general are awful fat yanks that need to be told when to make noise because they are too busy stuffing their pie holes, last time i watched an nba game 'clap clap clap clap yourr hands' x1000 while everyone sits in general silence :lol1:

America has MANY MORE competitive sports which to earn money and many people to attempt such feats AND ALL THINK THEY'RE THE BEST EVER! why would you want to get hit in the face/head, for a living? When you have OPTIONS, and the race thing plays a huge part.....:usa1: its obvious:bsflag: The UK watches and participates in just as many sports as the USA, if not more. We're competitive in football, rugby, cricket, cycling, F1, golf, tennis, a bunch of miscellaneous Olympic sports and some that are mostly contained to here like snooker and darts. We actually won more men's gold medals in the last Olympics than the USA did iirc

America has MANY MORE competitive sports which to earn money and many people to attempt such feats AND ALL THINK THEY'RE THE BEST EVER! why would you want to get hit in the face/head, for a living? When you have OPTIONS, and the race thing plays a huge part.....:usa1: its obvious:bsflag:

A number of reasons. America have a lot more competitive sports than the UK. The fact that most promoters attach their boxers to a football club here, look at Josh Warrington as an example. UK fans also follow boxing with a lot of passion and they are prepared to pay or travel if they like that boxer, they also tend to support any boxer if they like his personality or style, I remember how Diego Corrales was applaud when he came here to watch a fight, how Barrera was clapped, how Mayweather was treated with respect. I think they just appreciate good boxer regardless of their nationality. And as long as you try hard they would follow you wherever you fight as a Brit.

well, since i'm on someone's ignore list, i have to open a new thread for this response. i do think it's a good discussion though. truth is, Uk boxing has really blown up because of matchroom boxing, Sky sports, AND the smart and strategic promotion of fighters by eddie hearn. but that's probably too bitter of a pill for you ldbc fans to swallow. i think if you really did a deep dive, you would find that there are a few reasons: 1. relatability: in general, uk boxers are way more relatable than american boxers. that's probably because their back stories are usually told and featured intentionally. american promoters don't do that nearly enough. 2. uk boxers are generally more dignified and charismatic than american boxers. all you have to do is look at AJ, bellew, callum smith, bruno, etc vs kovalev, wilder, broner, mayweather, e.t.c. it's tough to gather crowds when you can't behave yourself in public. 3. Race also probably plays a role, although, what it really is, is culture. for boxing to become as big as it should be again in the us, you need to attract casual white male fans and suburbian families. it's just tougher when you don't have talented white american boxers. and the attitudes of the current top american boxers make it impossible. UFC mma doesn't struggle there, so they continue to do well. In the UK, boxers don't need to be white to get massive support from casual white male fans and suburban families. That used to be the case in the US too, and it maybe still would be, if the general American public still cared about boxing. One thing that benifits UK boxers is the fierce pride and loyalty that many UK males feel towards their home town, city, or region, irrespective of the race of the people who live there. This is a consequence of the "football culture" which has been a major part of UK mainstream culture for over a century. UK boxing fans travel travel to support fighters from their home towns and this gives UK boxing shows the passionate atmosphere of football matches. Eddie Hearn understands this and taps into it deliberately, both with his matchmaking and the way he publicises fights. This has been a major factor in his success in the UK, and Eddie has admitted that he is struggling to get to grips with the absence of passionate local support for US boxers.