Back when a boxing PPV was still worth it

**MANGLER** · 09-28-2008, 08:36 AM

Originally posted by neils7147933

After last night's Mayorga fight, I was still awake and going through boxrec as I often do, and dug out a fight tape from 2003, back when Mayorga fought Spinks; as many of you will remember that card also had the Simms/Garcia crazy KO when Garcia dropped his hands after a clinch and got KTFO.

It was a Don King PPV and I looked at the lineup and realized that this was a WORTHY PPV card, one that was worth dropping money on it

This whole MMA/boxing debate too applies here too because this card was as loaded as the Affliction debut PPV or a number of UFC shows TOP to BOTTOM

Opener was Zab Judah vs. Jaime Rangel (granted, a showcase fight, but one that would be a BAD nowadays), then Travis Simms vs. Alejandro Garcia for the WBA light middleweight title, both fighters were 22-0; this was a BAD main event or a Shobox or even a weaker Showtime main event - no worse than Simms vs. Alcine that we got recently...

Then was Cory Spinks challenging Ricardo Mayorga for the WBC, WBA, and IBF welterweight titles. This might be a PPV main event now but definitely a main event on HBO or Showtime.

Then was John Ruiz vs. Hasim Rahman for the WBA interim heavyweight title. This wasn't 2008 when heavyweight alphabet titles went untelevised....yet this was still an undercard on this loaded card.

Then the main event was Bernard Hopkins vs. William Joppy for the WBC, WBA, and IBF middleweight titles.

This was ONE CARD, 40 or 50 bucks, but 5 bouts, and 4 of them for titles, all of them cards that would be single events spread out now, and as many as 2 that would be major PPV events...

Also this had a big-event feel, it was an INDEPENDENT PPV but had hosts and announcers and good production and interviews and backstories on video

And on another side note, if boxingscene had been around back then (I know Global MMA was but not BS) - can you imagine the activity on Sunday with all of the members we have now? There were those 5 fights, Arthur Abraham fought as well, and so did Jeff Lacy and Ricky Hatton in separate cards on a Showtime card...

Good post. Nostalgia homey...

**The Wire** · 09-28-2008, 08:39 AM

Originally posted by neils7147933

After last night's Mayorga fight, I was still awake and going through boxrec as I often do, and dug out a fight tape from 2003, back when Mayorga fought Spinks; as many of you will remember that card also had the Simms/Garcia crazy KO when Garcia dropped his hands after a clinch and got KTFO.

It was a Don King PPV and I looked at the lineup and realized that this was a WORTHY PPV card, one that was worth dropping money on it

This whole MMA/boxing debate too applies here too because this card was as loaded as the Affliction debut PPV or a number of UFC shows TOP to BOTTOM

Opener was Zab Judah vs. Jaime Rangel (granted, a showcase fight, but one that would be a BAD nowadays), then Travis Simms vs. Alejandro Garcia for the WBA light middleweight title, both fighters were 22-0; this was a BAD main event or a Shobox or even a weaker Showtime main event - no worse than Simms vs. Alcine that we got recently...

Then was Cory Spinks challenging Ricardo Mayorga for the WBC, WBA, and IBF welterweight titles. This might be a PPV main event now but definitely a main event on HBO or Showtime.

Then was John Ruiz vs. Hasim Rahman for the WBA interim heavyweight title. This wasn't 2008 when heavyweight alphabet titles went untelevised....yet this was still an undercard on this loaded card.

Then the main event was Bernard Hopkins vs. William Joppy for the WBC, WBA, and IBF middleweight titles.

This was ONE CARD, 40 or 50 bucks, but 5 bouts, and 4 of them for titles, all of them cards that would be single events spread out now, and as many as 2 that would be major PPV events...

Also this had a big-event feel, it was an INDEPENDENT PPV but had hosts and announcers and good production and interviews and backstories on video

And on another side note, if boxingscene had been around back then (I know Global MMA was but not BS) - can you imagine the activity on Sunday with all of the members we have now? There were those 5 fights, Arthur Abraham fought as well, and so did Jeff Lacy and Ricky Hatton in separate cards on a Showtime card...

A Don King mega card. I remember it and have the tape. I think that was one of Hopkins' best performances to date, he absolutely destroyed Joppy. His face was swollen to ****.

**Cadillac Man** · 09-28-2008, 09:47 AM

Say what u want about King but he always put together an entertaining card. What I don't understand is how can people say UFC puts on good cards? They are able to put on more fights because it doesn't take as long. Most fights are 3 rnds at 5 minutes so they can give u more fights because it will end quicker. Sorry guys but seeing a 16-9 guy vs a 11-4 fighter is not my idea of a good undercard. Imagine if Boxing had fighters with those records on an undercard I think u'd laugh. Boxing does need to step it up a bit on the undercard but to say UFC puts on a better undercard is A MYTH!

**neils7147933** · 09-28-2008, 09:57 AM

Originally posted by Cadillac Man

Say what u want about King but he always put together an entertaining card. What I don't understand is how can people say UFC puts on good cards? They are able to put on more fights because it doesn't take as long. Most fights are 3 rnds at 5 minutes so they can give u more fights because it will end quicker. Sorry guys but seeing a 16-9 guy vs a 11-4 fighter is not my idea of a good undercard. Imagine if Boxing had fighters with those records on an undercard I think u'd laugh. Boxing does need to step it up a bit on the undercard but to say UFC puts on a better undercard is A MYTH!

UFC will fill an entire 2 hour 45 minute show with FIGHTING...whether it's 5 fights or 10. Remember the like 90 minutes of nothingness while we waited for Lennox and Tyson to come out?

Records between MMA and boxing aren't comparable because of 1) the nature of the sport for the most part and 2) the pool of competitors. There's no need to, and no way to, pad one's record for years "developing"

And I wish a boxing PPV would put the cameras on the first undercard on the show period. Doors open at 4 PM - put the cameras on at 4 pm and run all the way til the main event at 10. It makes me mad to see the announcer running over some boring **** standing ringside, reading off a teleprompter while two guys are seen fighting in the ring in the background. It's 2008; if I want more than a few minutes of backstory and hype, I'll have already obtained it on the Internet.

Other than having fighters asking for a few more coins, I don't understand why that doesn't happen, especially when the cable providers aren't showing anything on those PPV channels all day til the main event anyway.

**FloydsEra** · 09-28-2008, 09:58 AM

Originally posted by Cadillac Man

Say what u want about King but he always put together an entertaining card. What I don't understand is how can people say UFC puts on good cards? They are able to put on more fights because it doesn't take as long. Most fights are 3 rnds at 5 minutes so they can give u more fights because it will end quicker. Sorry guys but seeing a 16-9 guy vs a 11-4 fighter is not my idea of a good undercard. Imagine if Boxing had fighters with those records on an undercard I think u'd laugh. Boxing does need to step it up a bit on the undercard but to say UFC puts on a better undercard is A MYTH!

MMA fans are more enthused about the undercards they get than boxing fans are about the undercards they get.

You're really comparing apples and oranges when you compare MMA fighters' records to boxers' records. Good MMA fighters will usually have more losses than good boxers because there are more variables involved in the MMA fight game. Plus they don't have amateur careers(as far as I know).

with all that said, the gayness that MMA projects really does make me trhrow up.

**neils7147933** · 09-28-2008, 10:01 AM

Originally posted by Stuntin

MMA fans are more enthused about the undercards they get than boxing fans are about the undercards they get.

You're really comparing apples and oranges when you compare MMA fighters' records to boxers' records. Good MMA fighters will usually have more losses than good boxers because there are more variables involved in the MMA fight game. Plus they don't have amateur careers(as far as I know).

with all that said, the gayness that MMA projects really does make me trhrow up.

but in all honesty, when you dropped 55 bucks on DLH/Mayweather and not only got a **** main event, but only two undercard fights that were barely ESPN2-caliber with any other promoter, weren't you feeling a little robbed? Different sports offer different products but shouldn't there have been a couple more undercards and at least one of them with fighters who were household names in the boxing world? To me, it's just greedy how they stack these shows any longer...that's probably why I'm not buying all of them anymore

**Thread Stealer** · 09-28-2008, 10:22 PM

Don King's mid 90s PPVs, when Tyson was locked up, were very good.

He had the "Night of the Rematches", with rematches of Jackson-McCellan, Norris-Brown, Nelson-Leija, and Chavez-Randall on one card.

Later that year, he had Trinidad-Campas, Randall-Coggi, Ruelas-Leija, and Chavez-Taylor 2 on another card.

Later that year, he had Trinidad-Carr and Castro-Jackson 1 on the undercard of Chavez-Lopez.

The best "**** for your buck" PPV ever was Quiroga-Anifowoshe, which was $10.

**warp1432** · 09-28-2008, 10:29 PM

Don King made really good cards back then.

Also, as much as I like watching boxing, I don't mind the mean time about people talking about the sport.

**Steak** · 09-28-2008, 10:36 PM

actually that card was full of boring fights. but I understand what you mean.

If you watch some of the older fights, you notice some crazy stuff. like recently Duran fighting Carlos Palomino. this would probebly be a ppv on its own today, and yet it was on the undercard while Larry Holmes fought Weaver or someone.

and even in the 90s, youd have Julio Cesar Chavez defending his title against guys on the undercard of a Mike Tyson fight.
what happened...?

and then you look at guys defending their titles today, but their matches not being televised. what the hell.
its cause promoters refuse to cooperate with other promoters.

Back when a boxing PPV was still worth it