Is Boxing Almost Dead?

[The Troll]

I think boxing in a way is still one of the 3 most popular sports. When there is a big fight like when Evander Holyfield fought Mike Tyson. Everybody watched that fight, everybody was talking about that fight etc... When the big fights come to boxing practically everybody at least in the US watches it and talks about. Just alot of people dont watch boxing unless there is a mega fight. And just because most Americans dont watch boxing unless there is a huge heavyweight superfight, look how the whole countries of Mexico and the Phillipines tuned in to watch Morales vs Pacquiao. Who is the most beloved Peurto Rican... Probably Felix Trinidad. Everytime he wins he has a parade in San Jaun its like he is the first guy to land on the moon. Julio Caesar Chavez is probably the most beloved man in Mexico 2nd only to Jesus.

The international matchups are good. People are probably tired of watching 2 Americans slog it all the time but when you match fighters from different countries alot of people get drawn for the nationalistic standpoint of it.

I think what has hurt boxing the most is that they changed the Championship bouts from 15 rounds to 12 rounds and there is too many sanctioning bodies now. The IBF was only added as part of being the Undisputed title in I believe 1986. Championship bouts as result of both things dont seem as significant as they did in the past.

Also fighters these days fighters have adopted more defensive type styles than the fighters in the old days who were willing to stand and trade alot more. Plus there used to be alot more integrity in the sport of boxing and it was more about boxing not how much **** you can talk outside the ring, I blame Cassius Clay for bringing that element in the sport. Boxing was most popular when the guy with the belt was the champion, boxers respected each other did not talk **** and make circus shows. One guy came in wearing white trunks with a black stripe, the other guy came in wearing Black trunks with a white stripe and overall boxing in the past had a more professional atmosphere. People used to wear suits and tuxedoes to big fights among other things, and boxing was considered a somewhat gentlemanly sport than it is now.

Even though I admit its entertaining to here Toney talk **** sometimes.

[The Troll]

Damn it read my editorial!

[xrhythmxnxbluesx]

2005 has been the best boxing year so far lately imo... alot of great fights still to come this year... i could never see boxing as the number one sport as of riote now... with espn not really paying attention to the toney scandal... but paying more attention of a fighter thats fights were being fix...

[Bombardier]

Why are some people so desperate for boxing to be "popular"? They sound like the loner kids in high school.

Being popular would not necessarily make the sport better, and trying to make it popular could be disastorous. As an example, I'm not the biggest hockey fan but I can tell you that as soon as the NHL tried to expand their American fan base they killed the sport. Before, the game was exciting and had a good solid base of hardcore fans, even though it was nearly ignored by the mainstream media. Then they added too many new teams in the south and diluted the talent pool. On top of that they started paying guys way more money than they could afford, which is what led to the financial crisis that caused them to shut down the league in a labour dispute.

As long as there are enough incentives for guys to get into boxing (i.e. $$$) then we will continue to see a good number of quality fighters. Isn't that all that matters? The current system is far from perfect but it allows to guys to make millions. With that kind of reward at the end of the road you will get enough people going into the sport to make it interesting. Who cares how many casual fans there are? Usually those guys don't pay the sports' bills anyway. They don't go to the games, they won't buy the PPVs, and all they will do is go around acting as if they're experts when they don't know ****. Do you really want more of these people around in boxing?

Success can also hurt the sport in other ways. Take a look at the NFL. Any old guy will tell you that the glory years of the sport were in the 50s and 60s, when baseball was king. Because the league has taken off so much measures had to be put in to control the flow of cash, and today we have salary caps and free agency that prevent us from seeing truly great teams. Plus so many owners and coaches want to play it safe these days in order to get wins. It's the corporate mentality and it has taken quite a bit of edge off of the sport.

Isn't it better that a large percentage of boxing fans are dedicated hardcore fans? Do you really think popularity is the answer to boxing's problems?

[Winter]

No, I think it is not dead.

[Keleneki]

I don't think boxing is dead or dying. I have enjoyed being a fan of the sport for around 35 years now. My memory isn't the greatest but I seem to recollect reading some articles when Ali's time was ending, with the writers saying the same thing. Come to think of it, I recall similar statements being made after Kim died following his match with Mancini. Umm, like rock and roll, boxing will never die!

[Domain]

"No Rematch? Anything Else Is Superfluous By MICHAEL KATZ (May 12, 2005)
LAS VEGAS, May 12 - The game is over, but at least it went out with a **** last Saturday night. You don't have to attend the funeral to know boxing is dead when a fight lives up to all the hype ever imagined and still can't sell 5,000 tickets.

You don't have to shovel dirt on the game when a heavyweight "champion" loses his title because of steroids and it's not mentioned on the lead-in to SportsCenter.

Outside of the sicko fans wearing out web site mail bags, no one cares. Boxing has become as relevant as Don King's shampoo. It's not going to be brought back from the dead this weekend when a guy named Tito fights a guy named Winky.

It's time to stop and smell the rotting.

It's almost enough to make someone want to spit out his mouthpiece."-maxboxing.com

This is a quote from the beginning of Michael Katz article talking about boxing being dead. Do you feel the sport is dead? I don't

damn who is the lady jessica berciaga in your sigs?she a **** chick

[Truth]

not sure if she does ****. clegg introduced me to her...

[AntonTheMeh]

get one belt, 8 divisions, network tv contracts and the problem's half solved.

[MJ406]

IMO this topic is one of the most tired, drawn out boxing arguments I've heard, yet it continuously makes it's way on here in one form or another.

**good point about Hockey, but I didn't think that sport was too too popular as I recall I could count on 1 hand the # of people that I knew who cared about the potential lockout.

and if PPV hasn't killed boxing yet, nothing will

as even with no big Network deal boxing will find it's place in the Sports news. Just don't expect it to be mainstream any time soon.