Serious Question. How do we get boxing back to it's golden years when everyone cared?

[ShoulderRoll]

There's a simple solution. Have only one world champion per weight class.

Promoter and network rivalries, staying on your "side of the street" with in-house fights....all of that would have to take a backseat to chasing the one belt. Being a champion would be special and the best would have to fight the best if they wanted to be recognized as "the man."

[TernceBudCharlo]

There's a simple solution. Have only one world champion per weight class.

Promoter and network rivalries, staying on your "side of the street" with in-house fights....all of that would have to take a backseat to chasing the one belt. Being a champion would be special and the best would have to fight the best if they wanted to be recognized as "the man."

I agree with this. We also need to eliminate unnecessary weight classes. Super and junior has to go.

The reason this is a problem is that too much talent congregates in and around a weight class however, this is just an excuse to avoid the best fights, oh Andrade is at 160 and Canelo is 168 now.

Let's make weight classes really mean something. Just like it was in the old days. Just like it is in the UFC today. Original 8. Nothing more. Welterweight. Middleweight. Light Heavyweight. Heavyweight.

Lightweight. Featherweight. Bantamweight. Flyweight

8 divisions. 8 champions. And a rule that if you are the champion, you MUST fight the mandatory, not as determined by the ****** sanctioning bodies, but determined by ONE organization siuch as the ring or trans national. And if you don't fight that mandatory, your are STRIPPED and SHAMED.

Most importantly, FIGHTERS DO NOT GET TO PICK THEIR OPPONENTS. Their must be rules and their must be a way of enforcing the rules.

[JERMELL_CHARLO_]

I miss the days when being a champion was a huge deal and the entire world took notice.

Remember how everyone took notice when Mike Tyson ruled with an iron fist?

How did it come to this where people don't even seem to care anymore?

Boxing is lacking a undefeated smack talker. Maidana destroyed Floyd Walmart Edition, Keith lost, I was robbed etc.

[Fists_of_Fury]

When you have career faded former champ and bum beaters as top P4P like GGG, Crawford, etc... it sets the sport back. When you have fans claiming these bum beaters are being ducked when they are really cherry picking hype jobs, it sets boxing back. When hype jobs finally have a decent fight and it gets put on PPV, it sets boxing back. You use to get good matchups on HBO and Showtime and mega fights or fights from legit PPV stars were PPV. Now every decent fight seems to be PPV, mega fights never happen, and clowns celebrate buying a lame app just to watch some boxing. This era is trash all around. Fighters want to beat bums then jump to the big $ fight without earning it by fighting all the top guys. The fangimps that say a non draw like Crawford who only has the worst major belt deserves 50/50 to a guy that clearly draws more and has 2 belts are the worst. These are the dumbest "fans" and a big reason why all these fighters are pricing themselves out of the best fights for the sport.

[TMLT87]

estrada vs Gonzalez 2 > MMA’s entire existence and catalog

Lol, it was great but no ****ing way. And MMA has those kind of fights much more often as well.

[HitmanTommy]

hmm........

[Mmann2e]

Someone is responsible for this ethic of "win = success unconditionally." When Ricky Hatton beat Zoo he was a fantastic fighter... His father got involved with his training, they put him on a program to make sure he did not lose a fight... He became a horrid humping machine in the process, and was never near the fighter he was when he went in "b a l l s first" against Zoo. Broner's own misguided attempt to pick up belts, and to neglect obvious problems down the road, was probably as much a problem for him, as a lack of focus. Broner is a heel, which is a technical term, it is how Floyd started before he left horrid Bob Arum, and fought De La Hoya.

Good enough to win is one thing, but developing talent is how you win. Look at one of my favorite fighters, Derrick Chisora. Chisora lost plenty, and got plenty of opportunities to fight for a championsip. He was never very talented compared to the top heavies, but he got good enough to be competative and keep better fighters honest.

The financial comment you make I agree with 100%. Its also the Mexican fans BTW. You used to be able to go into a bar in San Francisco and the bar owner could get the fight. I watched Tyson Douglas in a sports bar on Haight Street... I watched Trinidad Quartey in a mexican bar in the Mission district. I don't think it is race in boxing that makes for misguided programs. I think it has to do with promoters and the perpetual low hanging fruit: Today a talented kid in the heavyweight division could easily go pretty far up the ladder with nothing but God given talent and a boxing primer; look at Wilder for example. It has to do with the lack of skills and development IMO. Wilder has tremendous talent but it is hard to imgine him getting far in a division like the 70's. Fans have to demand more than creepy Bob Arum. You know what? Fans could directly set up fights on the internet through a go fund me type system, raising the purse, telling the promoters to go fck themselves and pay fighters directly. Lol.

The promoters have learned since the Ali act and Floyd's business model to milk their fighters. Gone are the days guys lile Marvin Hagler fought who ever he could or Ray Leonard was able to control aspects such as gloves or ring size. Fighters' have some control over the ring and gloves but they no longer can say who they're fighting with complete independence. There manager, promoter and trainer have an investment and more locks on their career. Even though their trainer would be a better person to take career advice the managers and promoters interests are their fighter makes it big and then cash out. And if that fighter loses the rebuilding doesn't really happen as both managers and promoter gauge interest in a fighter and how much money can their newly defeated fighter gets after a lost.

[billeau2]

The promoters have learned since the Ali act and Floyd's business model to milk their fighters. Gone are the days guys lile Marvin Hagler fought who ever he could or Ray Leonard was able to control aspects such as gloves or ring size. Fighters' have some control over the ring and gloves but they no longer can say who they're fighting with complete independence. There manager, promoter and trainer have an investment and more locks on their career. Even though their trainer would be a better person to take career advice the managers and promoters interests are their fighter makes it big and then cash out. And if that fighter loses the rebuilding doesn't really happen as both managers and promoter gauge interest in a fighter and how much money can their newly defeated fighter gets after a lost.

Very true. Eventually it will destroy the sport. It has become all about the money and that one big fight.

[The Big Dunn]

I miss the days when being a champion was a huge deal and the entire world took notice.

Remember how everyone took notice when Mike Tyson ruled with an iron fist?

How did it come to this where people don't even seem to care anymore?

do away with network exclusive deals. Allow networks to bid on the fights. That crates incentives to make the best fights and not showcase fights for just the big names.

also reward winning. If you win you should get a better fight. Guys like a gabe rosado that continually gets big fights because he will bleed and get ktfo are bad for the sport.

it should be like mma- win and you are rewarded with a bigger fight for more money. Not win and you then get 2 easy bums after.

[Eff Pandas]

The promoters have learned since the Ali act and Floyd's business model to milk their fighters. Gone are the days guys lile Marvin Hagler fought who ever he could or Ray Leonard was able to control aspects such as gloves or ring size. Fighters' have some control over the ring and gloves but they no longer can say who they're fighting with complete independence. There manager, promoter and trainer have an investment and more locks on their career. Even though their trainer would be a better person to take career advice the managers and promoters interests are their fighter makes it big and then cash out. And if that fighter loses the rebuilding doesn't really happen as both managers and promoter gauge interest in a fighter and how much money can their newly defeated fighter gets after a lost.

I don't even fully understand how the business worked back then. I feel like it was even rarer than it is now for a guy to get picked up as an amateur. And it was even pretty rare for contenders to have a regular promoter or contract. Even the biggest names seemed to freelance to some degree usually. Did promoters just not sign guys like they do now? Did promoters get smarter or did boxers get dumber or what happened from then to now. I don't believe fighters today are doing things fighters from yesteryear wouldn't be doing now if they were around & I don't suspect that boxers from now wouldn't have the same setup if they were around in the 70's & 80's or earlier.