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I responded to a post a moment ago wherein the writer wanted to know why the UFC has become so popular. There are 3 big reasons for this IMO:
1. They've taken the brutality out of boxing. I can't count how many stun and shoeshine TKOs I've seen in the past few years. DeLahoya has made a fortune off of them. This rarely happened in the past. Used to be that when a fighter was stunned and shoeshined on the ropes, he would take a knee and get an 8 count, or just get an 8 count. Not anymore. Furthermore, in today's game the 10 count is almost a rarity. Now, if the downed fighter doesn't pop up almost immediately, the fight is most likely going to be waived off. And, of course the move from 15 to 12 rounds was made many years ago. Am I the only person that thinks this is overkill?
2. Too many fights appear fixed. Controversial decisions are just a part of boxing. But, in the last few years it seems that they are regularly occurring.
3. Too many championship belts. Back in the day there was one belt and one champion. This generated great drama and interest. Now days having a belt is almost nothing and there is rarely a universally recognized champion. Years ago somebody figured out that if you had more championship belts, you could put on more "championship" fights and therefore make more money. Well, this greedy reasoning has hurt the sport greatly.
That's why boxing has lost its allure regarding many fans.
1. They've taken the brutality out of boxing. I can't count how many stun and shoeshine TKOs I've seen in the past few years. DeLahoya has made a fortune off of them. This rarely happened in the past. Used to be that when a fighter was stunned and shoeshined on the ropes, he would take a knee and get an 8 count, or just get an 8 count. Not anymore. Furthermore, in today's game the 10 count is almost a rarity. Now, if the downed fighter doesn't pop up almost immediately, the fight is most likely going to be waived off. And, of course the move from 15 to 12 rounds was made many years ago. Am I the only person that thinks this is overkill?
2. Too many fights appear fixed. Controversial decisions are just a part of boxing. But, in the last few years it seems that they are regularly occurring.
3. Too many championship belts. Back in the day there was one belt and one champion. This generated great drama and interest. Now days having a belt is almost nothing and there is rarely a universally recognized champion. Years ago somebody figured out that if you had more championship belts, you could put on more "championship" fights and therefore make more money. Well, this greedy reasoning has hurt the sport greatly.
That's why boxing has lost its allure regarding many fans.
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