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Two years ago, give or take, boxing's obituaries were being penned by pundits across the globe. The sport's inability to provide the fights the fans wanted, coupled with the rise of mixed martial arts, supposedly spelled doom.
Boxing did a remarkable job of fighting back, primarily due to universal acceptance of the flash, brash Floyd Mayweather as pound-for-pound number one, and willingness of the likes of Oscar De La Hoya to fight him.
Ricky Hatton's ability to break into the US market and haul tens of thousands of fans along with him for the ride afforded boxing a true worldwide status of which the likes of MMA - for the time being, at least - could only dream.
The popular, blue-collar Kelly Pavlik took over as the world's number one middleweight and Miguel Cotto's sharp fists built him into a contender for Mayweather's crown - all before Manny Pacquiao's higher-weight odyssey began.
Heading deeper in 2010, there are still signs of encouragement - mainly, finally, at heavyweight, where David Haye has proved just what a long ailing division needs, and is shaping up for true era-defining fights against both Klitschkos.
But the sport's fightback is in severe danger of having stalled. It is a situation showcased by the refusal of Mayweather and Pacquiao to make the one fight the boxing world wanted to see more than any other.
Of course there are rumours that the drug-testing saga was all a ruse to eke a few more million dollars-worth of hype out of a fight that will happen later this year - that talk of irreconcilable differences is just a front.
Whatever, it hasn't done boxing any favours. The sport's chief hype merchants can point all they like to the 52,000 gate for Pacquiao's fight against Joshua Clottey on Saturday - all that proves is there are enough folk in Texas who will turn up to a fight if the tickets are cheap enough.
One hundred more Pacquiao-Clottey fights will rake in the cash for someone but it won't help the sport. It has only just emerged from an era when it was hampered by cynical match-making, and can't afford to toy with the notion of a return just yet.
There are other fights that need to happen, and others that surely shouldn't. Top of the unwanted list must be the meaningless and possibly even dangerous match between fading giants Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones.
A close second is Amir Khan's imminent Stateside debut against the fading, completely non-punching Paulie Malignaggi. Malignaggi can talk all he wants but it won't put any more weight in his fists.
Malignaggi is the kind of opponent who will be dredged up for as long as he wants on account of his ticket-selling motormouth and the complete lack of threat he now poses to up-and-comers with questionable chins.
The fact that Khan paid step-aside money to a genuine challenger, the hard-hitting Argentinian Marcos Maidana, enhances the cynicism of the Malignaggi match-up. Boxing has had enough non-threatening fights to last an era.
De La Hoya's Golden Boy promotions company were at the forefront of the change in boxing's fortunes, as they proved key to bringing so many of the world's biggest-name fighters together.
The problem now is they are unwilling to let go of them, to get their big stars tested against prospective stars of the future such as Chad Dawson, easily the world's best light-heavyweight, who is still nowhere nearer a fight with Hopkins.
In the lower weights, Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan can keep trash-talking all they like but hardcore fans of the sport will take neither totally seriously until they have settled their differences in a rematch.
There are also increasing calls for the super-featherweight division's two hottest prospects, Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa, to kick off a rivalry that could define a generation before it's too late.
Boxing is healthy. The MMA threat has been largely seen off.There are a host of stars who are recognisable across the globe irrespective of their nationality or their satellite television contract.
There is a heavyweight unification series approaching and we will also soon know who, undisputably, is the best super-middleweight on the planet. In Britain, the likes of James Degale and George Groves make strides.
But its defining moment awaits. If Mayweather and Pacquiao are allowed to end their careers without facing one another, it will symbolise a return of a broader malaise - one which the sport of boxing can ill afford.
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Boxing did a remarkable job of fighting back, primarily due to universal acceptance of the flash, brash Floyd Mayweather as pound-for-pound number one, and willingness of the likes of Oscar De La Hoya to fight him.
Ricky Hatton's ability to break into the US market and haul tens of thousands of fans along with him for the ride afforded boxing a true worldwide status of which the likes of MMA - for the time being, at least - could only dream.
The popular, blue-collar Kelly Pavlik took over as the world's number one middleweight and Miguel Cotto's sharp fists built him into a contender for Mayweather's crown - all before Manny Pacquiao's higher-weight odyssey began.
Heading deeper in 2010, there are still signs of encouragement - mainly, finally, at heavyweight, where David Haye has proved just what a long ailing division needs, and is shaping up for true era-defining fights against both Klitschkos.
But the sport's fightback is in severe danger of having stalled. It is a situation showcased by the refusal of Mayweather and Pacquiao to make the one fight the boxing world wanted to see more than any other.
Of course there are rumours that the drug-testing saga was all a ruse to eke a few more million dollars-worth of hype out of a fight that will happen later this year - that talk of irreconcilable differences is just a front.
Whatever, it hasn't done boxing any favours. The sport's chief hype merchants can point all they like to the 52,000 gate for Pacquiao's fight against Joshua Clottey on Saturday - all that proves is there are enough folk in Texas who will turn up to a fight if the tickets are cheap enough.
One hundred more Pacquiao-Clottey fights will rake in the cash for someone but it won't help the sport. It has only just emerged from an era when it was hampered by cynical match-making, and can't afford to toy with the notion of a return just yet.
There are other fights that need to happen, and others that surely shouldn't. Top of the unwanted list must be the meaningless and possibly even dangerous match between fading giants Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones.
A close second is Amir Khan's imminent Stateside debut against the fading, completely non-punching Paulie Malignaggi. Malignaggi can talk all he wants but it won't put any more weight in his fists.
Malignaggi is the kind of opponent who will be dredged up for as long as he wants on account of his ticket-selling motormouth and the complete lack of threat he now poses to up-and-comers with questionable chins.
The fact that Khan paid step-aside money to a genuine challenger, the hard-hitting Argentinian Marcos Maidana, enhances the cynicism of the Malignaggi match-up. Boxing has had enough non-threatening fights to last an era.
De La Hoya's Golden Boy promotions company were at the forefront of the change in boxing's fortunes, as they proved key to bringing so many of the world's biggest-name fighters together.
The problem now is they are unwilling to let go of them, to get their big stars tested against prospective stars of the future such as Chad Dawson, easily the world's best light-heavyweight, who is still nowhere nearer a fight with Hopkins.
In the lower weights, Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan can keep trash-talking all they like but hardcore fans of the sport will take neither totally seriously until they have settled their differences in a rematch.
There are also increasing calls for the super-featherweight division's two hottest prospects, Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa, to kick off a rivalry that could define a generation before it's too late.
Boxing is healthy. The MMA threat has been largely seen off.There are a host of stars who are recognisable across the globe irrespective of their nationality or their satellite television contract.
There is a heavyweight unification series approaching and we will also soon know who, undisputably, is the best super-middleweight on the planet. In Britain, the likes of James Degale and George Groves make strides.
But its defining moment awaits. If Mayweather and Pacquiao are allowed to end their careers without facing one another, it will symbolise a return of a broader malaise - one which the sport of boxing can ill afford.
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