"Boxing is a sport", "no, its not, boxing is a business"

[CubanGuyNYC]

lol @ the idea of Tommy Burns and Jim Jefferies along with John L Sullivan who thought of it as just simply a "sport".

TortillaWarrior, look up the old school term "sport" from the early 1900's and how that term was treated. If anything, a fighter you hate so much, Floyd Mayweather Jr ACTUALLY RESEMBLES champions of the past with his flamboyant spending and extravagant lifestyle, you throw in WWE, its the same as the travelling shows of dancing and shadowboxing that boxers used to participate to make side money.

Again, youre lack of understanding of the history of this sport is what hinders you from having an understanding what this sport is about. No matter how many times people tell you the deal, you ignorantly drum up false analogies and terrible arguments bent on pushing youre misguided opinions on others.

When you study the history of boxing, all the way back to the bareknuckle era, it's amazing how little has really changed. In some ways, one might even argue that things have actually gotten better! Back in the days of John L. and Jack Johnson, champions clutched onto their belts for dear life. It was their ticket to a decent livelihood. Ducking dangerous opponents was even more prevalent back in those days. (And let's not even get into fixed fights.) Talented men pursued the title and didn't necessarily give a shot to other talented men once they had it. If a champion lost his belt, he might never get a chance to reclaim it. Now, if the fight made good business sense, it would be worth the risk....

[MaD RoBoT]

i thought the TS made a wrong title for the thread

[Spray_resistant]

Its a sport yes, but these guys do have to make living hence the business aspect of it, but as far as I am concerned **** that business aspect of it.

I am just a fan and as a fan I want to see the sport you know fights, I don't tune in to watch these guys go to the bank as cash their checks.

I never understood why ppl on here talk so much about purse splits and PPV buys, you don't see a dime of it so why do you care? All I care about is the product they are selling I.E the fights.

Worrying about some other man's money sounds like some maricon **** to me.

[TheSurgeonMDMPH]

Boxing is also entertainment, and watching runners isn't entertaining. Who is enthused by the idea of Floyd v Paulie for example? it's always the come-forward fighter who makes the fight exciting and worth watching.

I wonder how a mismatch between 2 counter punchers not brawlers was viewed by well over a million ppv subscribers?

[Sin City]

dumbest ****ing thread ever.. all sports are both.

[Doctor_Tenma]

If people are interested with the business side of the sport and like to talk about that; let them be. Just don't get involved with that topic, because I'm getting the sort of feeling that thats what this thread is about.

[deliveryman]

That statement is far too ambiguous to have any real meaning.

The obvious answer is that it's both a sport and a business.

Probably what the statement was implying is that Boxing is a business first before it is a sport. If so, I completely disagree. Boxing is a sport first and a business second. The business aspect is the result of boxing. Boxing generates business, not the other way around. Boxing will always exist somewhere regardless if pennies are every exchanged.

[El Jesus]

When you study the history of boxing, all the way back to the bareknuckle era, it's amazing how little has really changed. In some ways, one might even argue that things have actually gotten better! Back in the days of John L. and Jack Johnson, champions clutched onto their belts for dear life. It was their ticket to a decent livelihood. Ducking dangerous opponents was even more prevalent back in those days. (And let's not even get into fixed fights.) Talented men pursued the title and didn't necessarily give a shot to other talented men once they had it. If a champion lost his belt, he might never get a chance to reclaim it. Now, if the fight made good business sense, it would be worth the risk....

I can honestly say, ducking was way worse in the early days, and people thought floyds retirement was bad, Jim Jefferies retiring on a ****ing farm to duck jack johnson was ****ing awful on every level, the press was begging him to take him on and he still said "na **** it"

Boxing hasnt changed at all, infact truthfully while i feel there are bad things about the sport, its much better now than it was before, title shots for good fighters can actually happen.

Like i said, anyone who knows the history knows that this sport hasnt changed at all.

[Thread Stealer]

I can honestly say, ducking was way worse in the early days, and people thought floyds retirement was bad, Jim Jefferies retiring on a ****ing farm to duck jack johnson was ****ing awful on every level, the press was begging him to take him on and he still said "na **** it"

Boxing hasnt changed at all, infact truthfully while i feel there are bad things about the sport, its much better now than it was before, title shots for good fighters can actually happen.

Like i said, anyone who knows the history knows that this sport hasnt changed at all.

That's one thing I like about alphabet titles. They're annoying and corrupt and all, but at least they help high-risk/low-reward fighters get their name out there. There's more titles to choose from, and it could be used as a marketing tool. The Plastered Bastard had the WBO belt for awhile, and even before getting a big fight with Cotto, he fought Williams and got over a mil. I think Williams got a nice payday too.

Of course Mosley deserves credit for fighting high-risk fighters like Forrest & Wright, but those two having belts probably helped them get those fights. They sold them as unification bouts.

[Vasyl’s dad]

Why does everybody get so mad when Bob Arum makes "smart business decisions"?

Isn't that his job?

"Boxing is a business"

Remember?