Why do you think Boxing is not Big anymore?

[hectari]

guys i agree too many expensive ppv;s

and not enough basic cable or basic tv fights.

This sucks because these old promoters are at that age where they are super lazy...they dont have the energy to try and hustle a deal with abc, nbc, cbs anynmore so now they look for the quick buck...back when they were younger they were hustling hard.

arum and king need to realize they are just damaging the sport they can still be apart of boxing but they should allow some younger business minded guys market the sport people who are fresh...if they dont boxing will turn into ncaa wrestling...it will always be a sport but this is the reason why MMA is taking over.

and MMA always uses the tagline this is the closest to a real fight then boxing. people who never watched boxing watch mma.

[K-DOGG]

In a word....exposure, or lack thereof. You can't have new boxing fans if there are no fights to watch. Growing up, I could watch any number of matches on "free" tv on the weekends.

That's not an option anymore.

Also, odds are there's not a fight club in your town that holds weekly contests you and your boys can go to on a guys night out or whatever.

Fewer boxing venues means less exposure, restricting followership to those who were won over years ago and their circle of influence.

[hectari]

why is boxing declining? Maybe its cuz people would rather see a full card of ufc fights with well known ufc fighters rather than paying 40 bucks to watch 1 good boxing fight with an undercard of bums. Having 17 weight classes kinda hurts matters too. Do we really need a weight class in between 105-112, do we really need a weight class between 112-118, do we really need a weight class in between 118-126. Its just ******. There are 8 weight classes between 105-130, its a joke.

i think weight classes should be in 10 pound increments.

[brownpimp88]

when a guy goes from 135 to 140, i consider that half a weight class. Going from 135 to 147, now thats 1 full weight class. So when they say **** like this guy is a 5 division champ, i dont buy it. We have 17 weight classes, with 4 champs in each, good luck having new fans come to the sport.

[kayjay]

I can't send anymore bad karma, but **** off hectari and stay out of NSB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

[K-DOGG]

when a guy goes from 135 to 140, i consider that half a weight class. Going from 135 to 147, now thats 1 full weight class. So when they say **** like this guy is a 5 division champ, i dont buy it. We have 17 weight classes, with 4 champs in each, good luck having new fans come to the sport.

Good point. However, I'd settle for all the weight-classes as long as there were just one champ in each.

[hectari]

I can't send anymore bad karma, but **** off hectari and stay out of NSB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

whats your r****ing problem dog?

you seriously are ignorant....seriously im just trying to touch on a topic that is seriously effecting boxing! the more you ignore **** its like cancer it grows worse...remember a few years ago boxing was talking about its slump now mma is finally taken over boxing because boxing declined too much!

and this is a travesty....why are you hatin me?> I have nothing to do with the decline dude...you act like im don king or arum and **** haha.


wake up.

[kayjay]

whats your r****ing problem dog?

you seriously are ignorant....seriously im just trying to touch on a topic that is seriously effecting boxing! the more you ignore **** its like cancer it grows worse...remember a few years ago boxing was talking about its slump now mma is finally taken over boxing because boxing declined too much!

and this is a travesty....why are you hatin me?> I have nothing to do with the decline dude...you act like im don king or arum and **** haha.


wake up.

It is a legitimate question, but I never see you discussing anything else.

Sorry, at least you didn't try to talk about UFC.


My answer:

I agree with K-Dogg. There is simply too little for young people to watch. To speak only of American television, HBO and Showtime are pay channels that show Boxing Saturday nights at 10:00. This rules out young kids as well as anyone who does not have the requisite $$ to invest in the cable bill.

ESPN on the other hand is of course much more accessible, but there need to be stars/ recognizable names with repeat appearances in order to grab the attention.

I remember being 10 and able to watch boxing on tv. A few years later Tyson was champ but I could not watch him, as we did not have nor could afford HBO or PPV. But later there at least were still some weekend fights, include a couple early De La Hoya fights. At 15-6 I became a fan of him because I knew him from the Olympics and then saw a few of his early pro fights on free TV. There's been no one for young mainstream sports fans to follow since then.

[Zn1]

I think it is because promoters dont build up there fighters...i was thinking about the success of UFC they built up the fighters so even if they fought someone sorry the people will believe it...they are buying the hype.

look at how many shows are having an mma show? MSNBC has a warrior nation devoted to mma, and ESPN is now gonna air MMA fights and are thinking about taking away tuesday night fights...and also FOX public tv channel will soon be airing a reality show on basic tv! thawts huge!

and you get to know the personality of the fighters.

this morning i was listening to power 106 in LA and rampage jackson was on and he was very personable and charismatic and funny he is like a down south rapper with a unique story he has an albino son, half japanese kids and he wears a huge chain on his neck...and is funny to top it off.

So many girls love UFC because of the reality series and the drama,I never seen so many women into fighting as in mma...because women need drama to be attracted to something they like the soap opera and hype behind the fight and the popularity.

With boxing they dont build up the personality of the fighters, like paul williams, cotto, mayweather jr, pacquiao, etc.

this was the reason oscar dela hoya was so huge and sugar ray leonard!

oscar had a story and everyone in the usa learned of his mother dying and he dedicated the gold medal to her he was a good looking kid who could fight and he was a instant hit with mainstream because we got to see his personality and know about him...

I think arum and king need to allow some younger people to take over and build up the fighters our sport is in the decline...more people are watching hockey in the usa then boxing.

boxing right now is at the level of MLS soccer...heck even mls soccer in the states is getting more hype since signing david beckham.

id have to agree, i got well excited about the recent ortiz - liddell bout, plus
all the other fights made for a rly entertaining night. seeing forest griffin get
"knocked the f**k out" being the highlight. the ortiz fight gave me the shakes
both times i watched it. ive started dwnloading older fights too as it seems to
mean something to me. like the liddell - couture fights etc
only fight recently thats made me excited was pac - em III and harrison - williams II

ufc are really getting it right, boxing is rly starting to look like a joke,
everybody seems to be avoiding each other.....still.

even the groundgame which ive always hated is getting more interesting as
i start to see the complexities. damn, even k1 has been more fun than boxing

[deuce_drop]

too many PPV's, bad match ups, poor decisions, too many fighters and promoters holding out for the money instead of making the better fights.
along with too many controversys, not enough boxing coverage too, UFC is all over the place and on spike tv free almost every night, boxing doesn't get nearly as much exposure and when they do they get a lame drama filled contender, where the drama is the show and not the boxing.

at least in the ultimate fighter those guys are there to wreck shop not cry about family and kids.

boxing needs a big shot of pep, because it's slowing down drastically.