How much does having a hometown to fight in matter?

[dans]

Not necessarily the boxer's "hometown", but somewhere they have established as their home venue.

In other words, Cotto has MSG, Pavlik/Gatti have Boardwalk Hall, Mosley/DLH have Staples Center/LA, etc..

I see fighters like Chad Dawson and Paul Williams, and they really can't be identified by a place. I think having a home turf of sorts help a fighter develop a fan base and become a star.

What is your opinion?

[RRICAN]

thats not given bro, you have to earn it. pdub and dawson are not there yet

[dans]

thats not given bro, you have to earn it. pdub and dawson are not there yet

I don't think that's true though. Look at a guy like Arreola. He has already established himself as a LA fighter, but Dawson and Williams have more experience and more exposure.

Kelly Pavlik was Atlantic City's fighter seemingly overnight.

[F l i c k e r]

I don't think that's true though. Look at a guy like Arreola. He has already established himself as a LA fighter, but Dawson and Williams have more experience and more exposure.

Kelly Pavlik was Atlantic City's fighter seemingly overnight.

Yet he lives in and comes from the IE.

PWill and Dawson just need to fight near their hometown then. Go fight in their city's basketball gym. Doesn't PWill live in ATL/Georgia? Why not try to sell out the Hawk's basketball arena? He would develop a hometown fanbase by doing that, not by living in ATL/Georgia and fighting in Staples and MGM.

[_original_]

It's very important as you will always be considered the bigger draw when negotiations about the fight happen......and yes, you will develop a bigger fan base and it's just better over all for the sport of boxing...people forget Floyd Mayweather couldn't sell out at his hometown, so some fighters aren't lucky in the sense they pick up that fanbase from the start...now Floyd Mayweather could probally sell out any area in the USA, so there's still hope for Chad Dawson and Paul Williams they just need to keep winning and market themselves better

[Drunken Cat]

I don't think it really matters on the top level, once a boxer has made it. Vegas is where the super fights land, irregardless.

At the lower level, you have two common trends: the club fighter and the journyman. It's pretty common to find a club fighter with a record padded against bums from fighting in the same venue. It is also very common to find a guy who travels for every fight.

[Drunken Cat]

It's very important as you will always be considered the bigger draw when negotiations about the fight happen......and yes, you will develop a bigger fan base and it's just better over all for the sport of boxing...people forget Floyd Mayweather couldn't sell out at his hometown, so some fighters aren't lucky in the sense they pick up that fanbase from the start...now Floyd Mayweather could probally sell out any area in the USA, so there's still hope for Chad Dawson and Paul Williams they just need to keep winning and market themselves better

I would say that it is important mostly from a marketing standpoint.