Comments Thread For: Why are today's leading boxers fighting less frequently than they were 30 years ago?

[CubanGuyNYC]

Money.

[brettWall]

No longer a huge deal. Fans are so used to it. These fighters even get to be inducted for their HOF award.

[BodyBagz]

Stay busy fights = padding the stats

Competing networks
Availability
Staging (the good kind)
Marketing
CREDIBILITY (after reaching a certain level, bums will not be tolerated)

[BodyBagz]

No longer a huge deal. Fans are so used to it. These fighters even get to be inducted for their HOF award.

A ton of HOFers from the golden era have beating a bunch of bums/debut/stay busy fights padding their W %

[Roadblock]

The leading boxers today fight better competition much quicker, guys cant fight the very best more than a few times a year, pick anybody you like from way back and they fought a low number of the best top guys in amongst 100 cans, the modern eras doesn't allow that to happen, fans are crying if they fight a genuine top 10 guy instead of the top 1/2 guy, if they fought guys with losing records triple their win record fans would crucify them, back in the day with no internet there was not a real lot of push back for fighting bums, people actually supported it so they could see their guy bash somebody, times have evolved, the stakes a higher, the conditioning is more finely tuned and the market doesn't allow for a bum of the month deal like it did back then.

[champion4ever]

There’s only one simple answer to that question.

Fighters are making too much money nowadays. As compared to the fighters of yesteryear.

Where some had to fight at least twice a week. Just in order to make the ends meet and feed their families.

[champion4ever]

Moreover, fighters are making a lot more money for taking lesser risks than fighters of yesteryear too.

[zod66]

No steroids to recover faster

[messimania]

The problem isn’t only with the top boxers, it is at all levels. Even the prospects on the way up fight sometimes only 2-3 fights per year. And whoever loses a fight is mostly out for 15-18 months for whatever reason. And after a big win there is nothing like keeping momentum. Next fight will be after a year.
in all (?) other sports there are more competitions than before, the competition calendar is stacked, including in amateur boxing. Then you turn pro and you never compete, making you a part time professional basically.

[Oldskoolg]

Money. But not SIMPLY money it’s that they have a better business acumen then they woefully under educated and under informed boxers of the past. Fighters these days have been shown how to make money on the back end, they have been shown how to make investments etc. I do believe they are being paid over what they are worth especially when it comes to risk but the only thing that will change that is the promoters. Also it had a lot to do with HBO and Showtime getting out of boxing. ESPN boxing isn’t what it used to be and there are less boxing casts on channels. The sport is in a bit of trouble