$$$ has ruined this era of boxing.....

[Thread Stealer]

3) Elite's are fighting only 2-3 times a year....you mean to tell me, even at $2mil a fight, making $6mil a year...you want to make more? You want to make more $$$, fight more fights....yes I know the body needs rest to recover from previous fights....but that's why your "elite" right?

Of course!

When are people ever satisfied with money?

People always want more money.

Boxing is a dangerous sport with no 401k plan, so naturally fighters are going to want to make as much money as they can.

A person making millions per year usually doesn't spend like the average middle-class or upper middle-class person. They spend a lot more and want to keep the lifestyle going, so they need more money.

[RodBarker]

I would like to differ about your JMM and Johnson comment...."not on top"?
JMM is the #2 p4p fighter...some could argue #1 or at least tied...is the legit LW champ....just beatdown two Legit titleholders.....1 young and hungry...the other experienced and never been KOd....is fighting the returning previous p4p king....is guaranteed $5mil while Floyd is getting $15mil....all the while still bitching about wanting to fight Manny...and not a word about money....Glen...well....if your definition of "not on top" is not getting fights with Elite/A-level fighters, not having any belts....then yes...but NO ONE IS WILLING TO GIVE HIM A SHOT because they KNOW DAM WELL what O.G triple O.G is capable of doing to them.....

And I'd like to think that I am not a sheep....check my post histories, threads and others.....no sheep following here bud.

The sheep comment was a blanket over the majority of the board not at any particular posters , lots of good posters just lots more of the sheep variety

When I say not on top , I mean publicly at the box office , the big corporate cuties today are Floyd Pac , the Heavyweight champ is generally always there then you have Hatton etc , fighters that capture the imagination of the public .

The point Im getting at is its not solely about boxing ability as to who calls the shots at the negotiation table and its always been that way , if you had the internet when Jack Johnson was fighting you would have the same environment you have now , the internet and fan communication is what is changing sport and everything else the internet touches , its like a runaway freight train , if the governments knew what the potential of the internet was going to be they would never have let it out its a monster running wild .

Fighters fight for money they are prize fighters you have the people that are on top and you have the chasers that want to be on top , on the topic of money your trying to claim boxing ability over public appeal and I understand what your saying and I whish it were different as you do but its always been about who sells and then how good a fighter you are comes in second , if your high risk low reward like so many quality fighters you get ignored unless you can call out and make enough noise to be counted , JMM and Johnson are great fighters on sheer ability but they dont sell and will always play second fiddle , its not just boxing its the world moving into the computer age and mans obsession of money , legacy obviously plays a part in the minds of some fighters but I would willing to bet money is in the mind of all fighters .

[MindBat]

If promoters actually had "ethics"....you think that fighters would'nt be as spoiled as they are today?

That's one of the reasons.

In addition, the cost of living has gone up since the olden days.

Plus -- the IRS must have it's chunk. That's the first thing they gotta get out of the way.

Plus -- the public demands higher quality at a faster rate, and are willing to pay more for it to be entertained.

[Thread Stealer]

I agree with the 2nd half....but I again question the "Elites"...if you are so good....yes people will pay to see you guys fight, that's why you are "Elite"....guarantee the fighters "practical" paydays...then the winner gets the lion's share of PPV revenue.
Go ahead and demand a payday, you've put your dues in, but not at the cost of your so called legacy....
Are fighters so scared of what happened to Tyson, could happen to them? Is that the reason of mega paydays?
I doubt it...but just another seed to plant...

Fighters are notoriously bad with money.

Tyson and Holyfield are just two of the more recent examples, but it goes on and on. Iran Barkley still lives in the Paterson projects in the South Bronx. Ray Robinson was extremely business oriented, negotiating for every last dollar, and he ended up broke. Joe Louis ended up in serious IRS trouble. Tommy Hearns is supposedly having money problems.

Roberto Duran, Bobby Chacon, it's the same old sad story repeating itself.

Fighters might be more concerned with money as a whole nowadays, but things are fresh in the mind and technology is so great, that we hear and talk about it more. So it may appear that in modern day boxing there's a huge difference, but money and corruption has pretty much screwed up all eras of boxing, in different ways.