Boxing is eating itself to death

[El_Mero]

Agree for the most part with TS. When hbo/show and fnf left, boxing went downhill.

Had a printout of boxing dates/times/channels/ppvs on my fridge that I looked at every day. Crossed fights off after they happened. Was a great time for boxing when those 3 networks had shows.

Pbc looked like it might be boxing's savior, only for Haymon to pull his typical bs.

[Spray_resistant]

In some ways I think that too but then ask myself is it the case or are things a changin and I'm a few stops into my journey leading to codgerville where I am yelling at clouds?

[OnePunch]

What are some of the funniest claims and things that have contributed to the joke in recent years?

"Gervonta is the face of boxing" is the first that comes to mind.

Anyone got anything else? Lol

Broner will be FOTD......... lol

[Pac=Duran]

Back in the golden age there were so many fights to look forward to. So many magnetic personalities in the sport and media too. Today boxing has eaten itself to death. There is no big fights that draw you in. Usyk has some flair but the only challenger that is exciting for him is a 20 year old kid. The biggest star in the sport is a 60 year old former champion who smokes weed every day. His rigged sparring session exhibitions generate more money than the current elites. Bud Crawford has a year or two left but nobody knows who he is. Boxing's funeral is coming soon and then the resurrection will occur after the sanctioning body mafias shutdown operations. Moses Itauma will save the sport and lead it into a new golden age while inspiring a new generation of future stars the same way Ali and Leonard did!!

Agree largely. Parker and Kabayel are decent opponents for Usyk though.

The lower weights have been gutted by Al Haymon/PBC behaviour. Its been so so awful for ten years now.

[Bennyleonard99]

Agree for the most part with TS. When hbo/show and fnf left, boxing went downhill.

Had a printout of boxing dates/times/channels/ppvs on my fridge that I looked at every day. Crossed fights off after they happened. Was a great time for boxing when those 3 networks had shows.

Pbc looked like it might be boxing's savior, only for Haymon to pull his typical bs.

There were so many interesting fights back then then that got people talking, buzzing, debating and then the fights were real. Then Floyd came along and every one of this fights looked like a soft controlled sparring session. HBO dumped Floyd for ducking Pacquiao - that is a fact - then Haymon manipulated Espinoza to buy Floyd for $150m guaranteed six fights and it was more rubbish. It ended up ruining Showtime boxing. Having been ripped off and robbed by Floyd Haymon, boxing fans pulled back

Pre Floyd I couldn't wait to read all the fighter interviews and news about fights getting made, and it all felt real. Now every interview sounds scripted with cliches.

[Bennyleonard99]

Pollywog, it's eating itself. The Harlem Globetrotters was a sign that basketball was so popular, the public wanted more in any way shape or form. Tyson and Paul are Floyd's phony exhibitions are being produced because there isn't much product to sell outside of a few moderate stars Usyk Canelo Inouye Beterbiev Benavidez. Boxing has so few assets that it has to go back in time and dredge up the ghost of Tyson and some clown on you tube. Milking Tyson and Paul and Pacquiao because there is nothing else to milk.

[Bennyleonard99]

This discussion is more interesting than anything the boxing media talks about.

[t_dirtydizzawg]

In some ways I think that too but then ask myself is it the case or are things a changin and I'm a few stops into my journey leading to codgerville where I am yelling at clouds?

Nah, it's not that. HBO and Showtime getting rid of boxing dealt a major blow to the sport. Both of those networks were boxing institutions for roughly the last 40 years.

[Bennyleonard99]

Nah, it's not that. HBO and Showtime getting rid of boxing dealt a major blow to the sport. Both of those networks were boxing institutions for roughly the last 40 years.

The reason these powerhouse networks both dropped boxing is because they lost the power to make the best fights, they were unable to force Mayweather into high risk fights, and then when he ducked Pacquiao that was the breaking point for HBO. Boxing is not interesting if the best do not face the best. Now even when the best vs best does happen, it's lost it's aura and allure and the trust of the public. Everything seems scripted and controlled now, there are no unscripted moments like Jones getting KOed by Tarver, the Lewis vs Tyson hype build up, Hopkins throwing the package of rice at Tito calling it his last meal, Duran trash talking Leonard and his wife, Holyfield telling Tyson at the press conf he's been everywhere Tyson has except for jail, which made Mike erupt into a rant.

Boxing feels totally scripted now, Oh it's going to be a record breaking event blah blah blah...

[t_dirtydizzawg]

Everything seems scripted and controlled now, there are no unscripted moments like Jones getting KOed by Tarver

Idk what you mean by there are no unscripted moments, as several fairly recent ones come to mind. Andy Ruiz knocking out Anthony Joshua in his U.S. debut at MSG, pretty much everything that Usyk has done since moving up to heavyweight, for most of the reasons that Tyson Fury tried to explain as to why he wouldn't face him in the first place (too small, poor English, not a Western fighter, not marketable, etc), the powers-that-be would have much rather had AJ or Fury with those belts, but Usyk upset the heavyweight apple cart by schooling the both of them anyway. They also probably didn't want AJ getting absolutely knackered by Dubois, but that still happened. The egg slap heard 'round the world at the Benn/Eubank presser didn't seem scripted, either (albeit the grand arrival of his estranged father on fight night DID feel scripted, I'll give you that one). Bivol was supposed to be a cherry pick for Canelo, he beat the Mexican from pillar to post. The Tank voluntary knee not being scored as a KD, Teo beating Loma only to turn around and get upset by George f'n Kambosos, Ryan Garcia knocking Haney down multiple times when everyone assumed he was going to get shutout, because all he had was a telegraphed left hook that Haney would nullify, Crawford annihilating Errol Spence, Bakhram destroying Tszyu, Brian Mendoza starching Fundora....there are a ton of recent examples that don't seem "scripted" to me, but like I said before, I guess it depends on what you are looking for.