A Spoiled Floyd Mayweather Jr. Hurt Boxing

[RL_GMA]

Regardless of how great you are, you can always point out their dull fights, Be it RJJ, B-Hop, Shane whoever

I think the main issue though is once Floyd hit the big stage, he didn't perform in a way where people would rush to see him fight again, but more likely for him to lose (based on his character).

Grant it, he KO'd Hatton...but the fight overall was decent at best.

It's fights on those big stages that make fighters as it did with Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, etc.

[FUC_U_PAYME]

The main point of the article, that US boxing lacks current superstars on the level of the NBA that could be ambassadors for the sport, is a good and legitimate argument, IMO.

However, there are many more things that you can point to that is hurting boxing state side, all of which, at one time or another, have been discussed here and on other sites repeatedly.

Lack of media coverage really hurts. I could be living under a rock and not know who LeBron is, but if I watch a national or local news broadcast (or just turn on ESPN for 5 minutes), chances are I will eventually see a replay of him making an incredible play and be impressed. How often do you see boxing highlights on TV?

Having recognizable names helps, but it's not enough. I've heard of Kimbo Slice, some dude named Shamrock and a Brazilian cat I think with the last name Gracie, but I've only really watched one MMA/UFC/Pride/Whatever event in my life (and I have no idea if it was MMA/UFC/Pride... and why I actually even watched it in the first place). Only hearing the names and seeing the people do interviews and pre-fight hype I don't think is enough.

I would argue that the biggest problem with boxing is PPV. I understand why it exists, but I think it's a big deterrent to the sport's popularity. Imagine having to pay $50 to watch the Super Bowl on TV. Then imagine having to pay $50 to watch a lame-ass pre-season game. Now imagine paying $50 once or twice every couple of months. Boxing has had way too many disappointing PPVs that left people feeling like they were ripped off.

Me, I always have a by-myself meeting before buying any boxing PPV. I ask myself, "What are the odds that this fight is gonna be good (or that it's gonna suck)?" You have to factor in both fighters' potential and past showings. Then I look at the undercard to see if there's any more good match-ups. The casual fan, on the other hand, is basically just going on hype (not to say hardcore fans don't get swayed by hype too).

PPV is a risk. You could conceivably pay $50 for a card that ends up only having 8 minutes of total action if that card had a bunch of early round stoppages. Or you could end up with boring hugging matches. And, as great as First Round KO can be, do you really want to pay $50 to see it live? Maybe. But maybe not.

Also, corruption has long been a factor. The average casual fan has heard of corruption in boxing. Not much has changed in boxing. There's still a lot of funny business going on, mainly ****ty scoring/results. The same way somebody will say that wrestling is fake, they will say boxing is fixed. When a fighter that clearly lost "wins" a fight, I think that drives the casual fans away.

green k for you great post

[warp1432]

I wouldn't say Phillip Ndou and Sosa were bad title defenses. His waste of fights were Bruseles, Corley, and Mitchell. Gatti was necessary to establish him on the PPV market. His wins over De La Hoya and Hatton are pretty good. Judah and Baldomir are what they are, but Baldomir was champ at the time, so I understand that.

I agree with the main point of the article though, he should have kept fighting partically Miguel Cotto because that's the fight everyone wanted to see.

[-EX-]

Well Sharmba was a tune up for 147 and Ndou was a good contender at the time...

[Deja_Vous]

I wouldn't say Phillip Ndou and Sosa were bad title defenses. His waste of fights were Bruseles, Corley, and Mitchell. Gatti was necessary to establish him on the PPV market. His wins over De La Hoya and Hatton are pretty good. Judah and Baldomir are what they are, but Baldomir was champ at the time, so I understand that.

I agree with the main point of the article though, he should have kept fighting partically Miguel Cotto because that's the fight everyone wanted to see.

Bruseles was an eliminator for the Gatti fight.

Didn't Cotto fight Corley too????...AFTER Floyd fought him.??

I guess Cotto wastes fights too....I mean Micheal Jennings and Alphonse Gomez...LOL

[Vasyl’s dad]

Dude,
You're so full of it and you know. You're Mexican right? I'm Mexican and I invited everyone over to my house to watch the Baldomir and DLH fights. All but maybe a handful of people wanted to see him get his a$$ kicked. When he didn't get his a$$ kicked they were mad.

Then lets go to the Hatton fight. Most Mexican people were still rooting against Mayweather. That was a sloppy fight, but the few stretches where Hatton actually landed punches all these people at my house were getting hella excited right. But as soon as it became obvious that Floyd was going to win again people got pissed off.

Now, I'm in the background drunk as **** singing the Hatton Wonderland song at the top of my lungs to annoy people because I KNOW that they just want to see Mayweather lose and it's not going to happen. So, don't tell me that there aren't more people who're mad that Mayweather won than people who GENUINELY believe that they were cheated out of entertainment value. They'll say that after the fact, but the truth is the only way they'd have felt truly entertained would be if he lost.

What is your point?


You're all over the place and not really making one.


Floyd DLH, over 2 million buys.
Floyd Hattton 850,000-900,000.

I stand by my statement.


Being Mexican has nothing to do with anything because most younger Mexican males don't really like DLH all that much and were rooting for Floyd in his DLH fight.


Worry about whats going on in your environment and don't try to tell me whats going on in mine,

it makes you look silly.

[Vasyl’s dad]

Which makes the article kind of redundant....

Redundant or not, its a fair point.

[FUC_U_PAYME]

what is your point?


you're all over the place and not really making one.


floyd dlh, over 2 million buys.
floyd hattton 850,000-900,000.

i stand by my statement.


being mexican has nothing to do with anything because most younger mexican males don't really like dlh all that much and were rooting for floyd in his dlh fight.


worry about whats going on in your environment and don't try to tell me whats going on in mine,

it makes you look silly.

his point was that the only reason that they watch those fight was to see floyd lose and when they saw that he was not going to lose they just stared making excuses

[Vasyl’s dad]

Its a sad day when writards ( as the great Max Kellerman calls them) , especially who never stepped in the ring, want to crucify a man for doing whats best for him & his family.

.


Fact.
Rocky Marciano 49-0, pound for pound best fighter ever.
Joe Calzaghe 46-0 pound for pound 2nd best fighter ever.
Floyd Mayweather 39-0 pound for pound 3rd best fighter ever.
Sven Ottke 36-0 pound for pound best fighter ever.


All because they had to do what was best for them and their families.






This is sports, not personal life.

Nobody cares what an athlete does for their families. I don't watch sports because I care about their families.

Quit using that **** as an excuse.

[Vasyl’s dad]

Oscar failed to deliver in big fights...You conveniently forgot that.

He ****ted on the Tito blockbuster by RUNNING.

He stunk-up the Mayweather fight BY NOT PUNCHING.

And many boxing fans crucified him as well, including me,

so whats your point?