why do you guys even like boxing/boxers

It takes me back to a time when beating shït out of people and getting the shït beat out of me was fun and exciting. Now, not so much, so I'd rather watch other people do it.

Even when I started watching which is exactly 20 years ago, it was still a great sport. It had many of the problems we have now, but they slowly went full ****** over the next two decades. The worst thing that happened is that stars stopped fighting eachother frequently, and that star power no longer overlapped to the next generations. I was never anti-Mayweather like so many and I really hate to say it, but him ducking Pacquiao for half a decade untill they were both past it, and dedicating his career to protecting his 0, really set a bad precedent. The generation after him really took notice for the worst and it's not surprising, look at where it got Floyd? This sport is ****ed. I admittedly always rooted for Floyd because the guy always stuck to his guns criticism be damned. In the long run he proved everyone wrong by beating all his opponents and making much much more fighting Pacquiao in 2015 than he otherwise would’ve gotten fighting him in 2010-2011 (the year before Pacquiao took two back to back losses and Floyd got arrested for domestic violence). Unfortunately, some (a lot) young fighters today (maybe like Shakur/Haney/Tank) or their handlers worry exorbitantly about the zero as a byproduct of Mayweather’s success. It was unfortunately a proof of concept yet they overlook all the hard work, incredulous self-belief, and vision of self-promotion to grow a brand (either through fandom or infamy). Floyd wisely embraced the heel and it paid off. Props to him, a single loss would’ve cut his PPV sales by more than 50%, I’m sure of it. He didn’t have the most entertaining style, people just tuned in to see if anyone was going to shut him up. Nobody ever did. But Floyd was always on point on fight night and a dog when pushed. I can’t say the same for any of these fighters except maybe a handful. Maybe Tank a little, but he doesn’t have anywhere near the other traits Mayweather had in buying out his contract, making up 24/7, and understanding promotion without it devolving into “hood” mentality (like Adrien “I did this for the hood!” Broner). On topic: I like boxing because I think, and this is only my opinion, when you take any sport at its most exciting peak, boxing triumphs above everything…even MMA. Boxing is brutal, sustained, dangerous and you can be ahead 11 rounds to 0 and then have your lights turned out in an instant. Larry Merchant described it perfectly: “Theater of the Unexpected.” I started in late 2006/early 2007. Cotto was my guy. And from there on I kept following welterweight and it just snowballed from there. I also enjoyed watching Tim Bradley coming up and felt bad how the public trashed him after the first Pacquiao win. There are also a lot of subconscious nostalgic ties to events. I remember watching Khan/Maidana with my father in law, Cotto-Margarito 1 and 2 with my dad and friends and family, Kelly Pavlik’s comeback vs. Jermaine Taylor, the first Bute-Andrade fight, Hatton sparked out by Pacquiao, watching Floyd/Maidana 1 and thinking Floyd had finally bit off more than he could chew. I could go on. But this is genuinely one of the few things that get me fired up in life. I love looking forward to a great night of boxing. To me, it’s honest to God lthe same feeling as waking up as a kid on Christmas morning.

boxing is a niche sport in america. i think swimming might be bigger. UK boxing is a different story because the fans on that side love n support their fighters no matter what.

The sport is way better now; I think all the top guys are fighting eachother now. Doesn't matter to me now. I want to see upsets, the cherrypick gone wrong types.

It's an awful sport that doesn't have any form of continuity. Big wins don't even lead to anything. It's an individual sport where boxers on top ignore each other and fight their own individual showcase fights. It's bad enough that they hide under their promoter's skirt, it's even worse when fighters in the same house won't fight each other. You just have to accept as it is. Let them cherrypick fights and hope for upsets. Cherrypick gone wrong types are exhilarating to watch. Showcase fighter only has to struggle like he's fighting Mike Tyson. That's satisfying to watch. That's why I don't object too much when they cherrypick fights. Nothing fans can do about it, anyways. The sport is way better now; I think all the top guys are fighting eachother now.

The only thing that has ever compared to an elite boxing fight, just like the one we saw last week between Bang Everything Zhang and the Juggernaut, and coming this week between Purse Davis and King Ry, were the fiercely competitive and real bouts between Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Texas Rattlesnake and the Rock for the WWF Championship. Nash out

I find, you can enjoy boxing more the less you're on a forum. On a forum, boxing turns into a pissing game with everyone and their younger brother joining in to trash "X" boxer. There is literally no equally beloved fighter as someone else is there to call him overrated/trash/bum. A fighter is only as good as his last fight, so despite him having an amazing career in his prime, if he turned 45, took a brutal L, that sums up his entire career. Boxing probably has the worst fans of any sport, lol. Forget even talking about the racism as well, lol.

Talk of marinating fights has become a huge joke now. Spence/Crawford is a shining example. It even got devalued. They couldn't even offer any guarantee money for both fighters. It's hilarious. There's virtually nothing to marinate. Most fighters are virtual unknown. They hid behind their promoters and they don't fight often. We're talking years before big fights get made.

Used to follow it much much more before, but now literally there is no one very interesting to watch, big fights are never happening, and there is basically no big names around to make it even a bit interesting.

Same reason as we all do. It's a h0m03rotic sport for the bi curious. Everyone on here is bi curious. Watching men in their underwear at a weigh in and talking about how good they look and then watching them in the ring, sweating and half naked, holding each other and hoping to see one dominate the other. It's as gay as it gets and you're all in on it.

Its got a rich and varied history, is the most aesthetically pleasing combat sport and I just like watching one on one fighting over ball sports for the most part because the stakes feel higher (potentially getting KTFO) and the skillset has more real world application.

Nowadays, no. The value of a certain fight today could be the same as it will be 2 - 3 years later. That's assuming it's generally a clamored fight. With the advent of the internet and social media, fights are no longer watched the traditional way like on cable TV, which most people have given up on in favor of Netflix, Amazon, Youtube, etc. Fans watch fights as cheaply as they're able to, or for free. I agree that fights can only get big if both fighters promote themselves well in the media and fight as often as possible. Jake Paul don't even need to marinate fights. Talk of marinating fights has become a huge joke now. Spence/Crawford is a shining example. It even got devalued. They couldn't even offer any guarantee money for both fighters. It's hilarious.

Question is do you think what worked years before would work in this day and age of media contents just being streamed for free? I doubt it. I mean people still talk about marinating fights. But I really don't see Spence vs Crawford getting any bigger, as an example. Other fights can only get big when fighters are seen in the ring often, not once a year. Nowadays, no. The value of a certain fight today could be the same as it will be 2 - 3 years later. That's assuming it's generally a clamored fight. With the advent of the internet and social media, fights are no longer watched the traditional way like on cable TV, which most people have given up on in favor of Netflix, Amazon, Youtube, etc. Fans watch fights as cheaply as they're able to, or for free. I agree that fights can only get big if both fighters promote themselves well in the media and fight as often as possible. Jake Paul don't even need to marinate fights.

I still enjoy the fights, but it's a frustrating sport for sure. I care about the boxers, but I'm not emotionally attached to any active fighter i agree

Question is do you think what worked years before would work in this day and age of media contents just being streamed for free? I doubt it. I mean people still talk about marinating fights. But I really don't see Spence vs Crawford getting any bigger, as an example. Other fights can only get big when fighters are seen in the ring often, not once a year.

That's why HBO gave up boxing in favor of the Game of Thrones series. People have something to follow. HBO realized they've been spending more money on boxing just to please a bunch of greedy promoters and fighters. Game of Thrones series is highest rated all over the world and it employed thousands of people from actors to set designers, animators, tailors, makeup artists, carpenters, writers, advertisers, you name it. Thousands benefited, literally. Game Of Thrones Budget Explained: How Much The Show Cost To Make https://screenrant.com/game-thrones-budget-show-cost-explained/ {"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"Jaime-Lannister-and-Gold-in-Game-of-Thrones.png?q=50&fit=contain&w=1140&h=&dpr=1.5.png","data-attachmentid":31816876} ​

I haven't paid much attention to what you laid out here. But when Spence started behaving lackadaisically for years about the Crawford fight, that's when I thought Floyd must have whispered something on his ear that fights don't have to happen now and just have to keep ignoring fans. That they become even bigger as years pass like archeological artifacts in museums that get tripled in value by age. That's what I've finally got it, that fights don't have to happen right away. You have to count years. Floyd's own words: "People said I was scared, a coward, to fight Manny Pacquiao. Everyone can have their own opinion. I always said, 'if it's meant to happen, it'll happen.' At one particular time, that fight was worth $60 million. I waited until the time was right, when things were on our terms and we were the A side and we could do things our way, we turned that into a $600-million fight." https://www.boxingscene.com/mayweath...lovkin--106117 Correct, that quote from Mayweather was in the back of my mind while I was making these posts. I don't like to settle in life. Tyson-Lewis, Jones Jr.-Calzaghe, De La Hoya-Mayweather etc. were shit fights. Precisely because they happened way too late. The "better than nothing" is not a sustainable mentality.

The question and answers focus on the (politics) of the sport boxing, not on boxing itself. I don't like a lot of things outside of the ring but how I feel about boxing hasn't changed. And even if I my feelings change about boxing today, I can still lookup old fights/fighters and rediscover why I love boxing. Boxers need everything: technique, stamina, power, alertness, reflexes, stress control, pain tolerance..... the list is endless. And the fact that lacking in any department could literally put you life at risk, sets boxing apart from all other sports. Personally, I like to watch boxers with great technique. To me that's just like watching art.

Even when I started watching which is exactly 20 years ago, it was still a great sport. It had many of the problems we have now, but they slowly went full ****** over the next two decades. The worst thing that happened is that stars stopped fighting eachother frequently, and that star power no longer overlapped to the next generations. I was never anti-Mayweather like so many and I really hate to say it, but him ducking Pacquiao for half a decade until they were both past it, and dedicating his career to protecting his 0, really set a bad precedent. The generation after him really took notice for the worst and it's not surprising, look at where it got Floyd? This sport is ****ed. I haven't paid much attention to what you laid out here. But when Spence started behaving lackadaisically for years about the Crawford fight, that's when I thought Floyd must have whispered something on his ear, that fights don't have to happen early and Spence just have to keep on ignoring fans. That fights become even bigger as years pass like archeological artifacts in museums that get tripled in value by age. That's when I've finally got it, that fights don't have to happen right away. You have to count years. Floyd's own words: "People said I was scared, a coward, to fight Manny Pacquiao. Everyone can have their own opinion. I always said, 'if it's meant to happen, it'll happen.' At one particular time, that fight was worth $60 million. I waited until the time was right, when things were on our terms and we were the A side and we could do things our way, we turned that into a $600-million fight." https://www.boxingscene.com/mayweath...lovkin--106117

Mayweather set the bad precedent for all the bad things we currently suffer: Fighters protecting their zeros at all costs, avoiding all dangerous fights Greedy fighters demanding tons of $$ for any kind of bum match Promoter wars Network wars Fake hypocritical drug testing Unreasonable whimsy diva demands Top fighters ducking each other and fighting on social media instead Superstars fighting bums and still demanding millions for it Superstars marinating and delaying big fights for years.. or forever Excessive PPV prices The fad of circus exhibition matches You name it, Floyd is the root of all evil and his putrid legacy might have damaged the sport permanently Him, but also the new generation in general. Kids today want instant gratification. And they are easily influenced. Like I said, look at where it got Floyd. Everybody knows how he went about his career and they see all the cars, houses, bling bling as a reward, it justifies everything. Yesterday I watched "Counter Punch". That little weasel Christopher Colbert repeated what I just said. It was the perfect example of how boxers think nowadays. If Floyd was around decades ago and accomplished the exact same things in the same way, it would have had a bad influence but it would not ruin the whole sport like it did in the 21st century.