What the hell is going on will boxing? Is it pretty much dead?

And we have people saying Usyk "deserves a break' Undisputed champions fighting once a year is TERRIBLE for boxingturns out fighting for money like Floyd did is better and results in biannual do it for "legacy" Usyk and TBud are the one a year program

The best won't fight the best because the sport is hard and bad for your health as opposed to MMA where you get armlocked and still get paid and have followers.

And we have people saying Usyk "deserves a break' Undisputed champions fighting once a year is TERRIBLE for boxing

You sound like a casual, there's plenty of up and coming guys: Moses Itauma, Keyshawn Davis, Hamza Sheeraz, Abdullah Mason. The 168 and 154 divisions are stacked. There's a massive card next month and then a good one in December. Just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean nothing is happening.

Who knows Dana Whites new model which is more in house and UFC based might work? You will have a roster of fighters who they will push to be more known through social media, weekly update videos and basically in house rivalries where fighters can't avoid each other. The talent might be lacking at the start but it will grow for sure and create names. It's probably the future of boxing

Lol actually I DIDN’T take it as I was already fully aware of the agenda T-Kitty :rofl:indians big brain:fing02:

The Saudis put on some great cards. Some of the supporting fights could have been main events elsewhere. Feels good on the night but then you've got nothing to watch the next week. Plus we actually got fighters fighting their rivals. Which is fine if you accept a loss on someone's record but boxing media and fans have been conditioned into writing everyone off once they lose. So in the heavyweights, we only have Usyk and a couple of possible contenders in Parker and Kabayel. We even have to resort to hyping a very inexperienced Itauma to have any interest. The old school promoters knew that the chase was more exciting than the kill. They dragged three heavyweights out for nearly a decade and the sport was thriving, despite the complaints that we didn't have an undisputed champion.

:bottle: byproduct of supporting lockdowns like a scared h0m0 was the QUADRUPLE vaccination worth it:thinking::Thinkingo Lol actually I DIDN’T take it as I was already fully aware of the agenda T-Kitty :rofl:

Lol…LIFE is dead brother and nothing is as good as it once was e.g. sports, movies, music, economy, socialising etc. Sign of the times :(:bottle: byproduct of supporting lockdowns like a scared h0m0 was the QUADRUPLE vaccination worth it:thinking::Thinkingo

Lol…LIFE is dead brother and nothing is as good as it once was e.g. sports, movies, music, economy, socialising etc. Sign of the times :(

I just think boxing isn’t accessible anymore. Take yourself back to the early 2000’s when you first became a fan, you would have had HBO, Showtime, ESPN, NBC etc to consume boxing if you’re US based. Here in the UK we had Sky, ITV, Channel 5, even BBC when Audley turned pro. I think of kids now and what do they have? Barely anyone has DAZN, most kids introduction to boxing will be f***ing Jake Paul on Netflix. Us hardcore fans will continue to stream fights and find ways to watch but the fanbase will just grow smaller and smaller. I genuinely hope I’m way off on my assessment but I think boxing is in a terrible place right now. The broadcasting landscape has completely changed in that time. People don't want long term subscriptions anymore. If the sport shrinks maybe it will kill off a few sanctioning bodies and give the sport a better basis to build back from. During the entire time I've been watching boxing there have been these same frustrations in various forms.

A combination of watching the sport for around 25 years and being a meditator means I find it hard to get on board with these dramatic narratives about boxing's decline. We've seen lots of big fights over the past few years. Things ebb and flow, what's happening in the US seems to be a cultural problem. My biggest frustration is the terrible media around boxing. Can we have some proper journalists back who can help do something about the sanctioning bodies? I just think boxing isn’t accessible anymore. Take yourself back to the early 2000’s when you first became a fan, you would have had HBO, Showtime, ESPN, NBC etc to consume boxing if you’re US based. Here in the UK we had Sky, ITV, Channel 5, even BBC when Audley turned pro. I think of kids now and what do they have? Barely anyone has DAZN, most kids introduction to boxing will be f***ing Jake Paul on Netflix. Us hardcore fans will continue to stream fights and find ways to watch but the fanbase will just grow smaller and smaller. I genuinely hope I’m way off on my assessment but I think boxing is in a terrible place right now.

The standard of those cards are just not good enough though. We used to have quality cards week in week out. I watch all levels of boxing from kids in skills bouts at local gym shows to Canelo-Crawford in Vegas. We shouldn’t have to settle for Najee Lopez vs Kelvin Henderson on a Saturday night. It’d be like cancelling 70% of Premier League fixtures and saying it’s ok you’ve got League 2 to watch. The standard just isn’t the same. The quality and depth of boxing on TV is abysmal in comparison to 10+ years ago. It reflects a clear lack of investment and interest in the sport. I think it’s really worrying for boxing long term. A combination of watching the sport for around 25 years and being a meditator means I find it hard to get on board with these dramatic narratives about boxing's decline. We've seen lots of big fights over the past few years. Things ebb and flow, what's happening in the US seems to be a cultural problem. My biggest frustration is the terrible media around boxing. Can we have some proper journalists back who can help do something about the sanctioning bodies?

Dave Allen fighting Makhmudov is top news nowadays, so..

stop it we have boots ortiz 2030 tank shakur 2030 curmel moton jake paul 2030 benny bivol 2026 oilskin v tba 2026 the future is bright

It's gonna die due to fanboyism. How can boxers become stars when the fans hate on 90% of them outside of the top 5 ranked guys in the division?

Its in the gutter. I think Saudi money was a short term answer and great but it also sped up the decline in the sense we was spoiled but we've basically ran or are running out of big fights. So many of these divisions are dead so much so we're seeing the odd elite fighter or at least actual world class fighter run through them with ease and often multiple and there seems to be such little talent coming through. Its truly in a terrible place as much as it pains me to say. With social media, phones/apps, and everything now for convenience we are pathetically lazy and its made men a whole lot softer. The Saudi involvement has essentially made the sport seasonal. The majority of top fighters are just waiting for the Saudi sponsored payday. They don’t stay active in between because the pay gap is massive. They’ve delivered some great cards but I don’t think it’s been beneficial for boxing on the whole.

Sounds like you're just focused on elite American fighters. Follow edpboxing's threads, there's still lots happening. The standard of those cards are just not good enough though. We used to have quality cards week in week out. I watch all levels of boxing from kids in skills bouts at local gym shows to Canelo-Crawford in Vegas. We shouldn’t have to settle for Najee Lopez vs Kelvin Henderson on a Saturday night. It’d be like cancelling 70% of Premier League fixtures and saying it’s ok you’ve got League 2 to watch. The standard just isn’t the same. The quality and depth of boxing on TV is abysmal in comparison to 10+ years ago. It reflects a clear lack of investment and interest in the sport. I think it’s really worrying for boxing long term.

Its in the gutter. I think Saudi money was a short term answer and great but it also sped up the decline in the sense we was spoiled but we've basically ran or are running out of big fights. So many of these divisions are dead so much so we're seeing the odd elite fighter or at least actual world class fighter run through them with ease and often multiple and there seems to be such little talent coming through. Its truly in a terrible place as much as it pains me to say. With social media, phones/apps, and everything now for convenience we are pathetically lazy and its made men a whole lot softer.

I have never been one of these “Boxing is dead” people. I understand it’s popularity is severely diminished in the states but It’s still lucrative for the fighters and has enough interest. Obviously boxing isn’t going to just completely go away but what the heck is going on right now? I am someone who would watch almost everything that was put on. I have enjoyed this last era that some think is crummy but it is absolutely terrible now and I have severely lost interest over the last year or so. Don’t get me wrong, the Beterbiev Bivol, Canelo Crawford, Usyk fights etc have all been decent but it wasn’t long ago where there were interesting fights on many weekends of the year. We are basically down to a few events in a year. Guys are completely inactive and the most recent era is aging out fast. Where are the new up and coming guys? What the hell has happened to guys like Teofimo Lopez, Loma, Spence etc… That era seems to be over and there is nothing interesting now. Gervonta Davis is one of the only guys I hear about anymore and he never fights anyone worth a **** and now he’s fighting Jake Paul? Is it just me? What gives? I know what you mean…there used to be a card if not every weekend…every other weekend…it seems Turkey grabbed up all the fighters…gave us the fights we wanted and now nothin’…white media in America won’t cover boxing unless there is a white guy for them to glaze…Floyd Mayweather kept this chit together…especially in the states…at the same time too many fighters want to emulate his image without doing the work inside the gym because they know that’s what sells…now those same fighters are signing with Hearn or Turkey…hbo and showtime leaving…hurt boxing…now they want to force d level uk fighters on us cause their audience/fans will pay for any fight…