Top 12 Fights to save boxing!

[SCtrojansbaby]

Bob Arum vs Retirement
Manny Pacquiao vs Retirement

That is what boxing needs

[Jupiter Jab]

Am I the only one that likes where Boxing is right now?

I really don't care about casual fans. Boxing is fine right now, and the lack of casual fans makes the overall fan base full of knowledgeable and genuine fans of boxing.

[rorymac]

Instead of attacking the guy, let's play ball. It's an interesting concept even if you don't believe boxing is dead.

Martinez vs Froch

Should make a very exciting fight.

Pacquiao vs Mayweather

Two top guys, people who say they don't want to see it are lying.

Khan vs Bradley

For a true champion in a good division.

Vitali vs Haye

Bring a bit more ****e into HW, as ring deaths at least bring publicity.

Calzaghe vs Ward

To cement the legacy of the greatest SMW of all time.

Just a few off the top of my head.

[Die Antwoord]

No fight can save boxing; its a dumb concept. Floyd could fight manny, the klitschko's could fight eachother, Chavez jr could fight alvarez, cotto could fight oscar de la hoya, and calzaghe could fight dawson all on the same night and it wouldn't "save" boxing.

The biggest thing keeping interest in boxing in the U.S. is the fact that Floyd and Manny haven't fought. Once the mega-fights happen it doesnt make people start watching other fights, generally they hibernate until the next mega fight.

Want to "save" boxing, heres what you do. You start treating the WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF, IBO etc... as the jokes they have become. Have one belt that the fans recognize as "the" belt. Fighters have the ring belt till they lose or are inactive or retire, when that occurs theres an 8 man tourney with fights every 4 months, if you miss a fight you are out. Forbid catchweights in championship fights. Get rid of 1/2 the weight classes. Make them like starbucks weight classes.

Venti-Open
Grande-Under 215
Grande Medium-under 180
Medium-under 165
Small-under 154
Smaller-under 145
Midget-under 135
Dwarf-under 125
Annorexic Dwarf-under 115

Then add in strict judge policies and 5 judges for championship fights. Include a "13th" round which is an "overall" round. After every fight have judges cards reviewed and graded, poor performing judges will not work championship fights.

That would do much more for boxing than any fight or series of fights.

[*Khan]

Maidana-Rios should happen.

[4Corners]

Instead of attacking the guy, let's play ball. It's an interesting concept even if you don't believe boxing is dead.

Martinez vs Froch

Should make a very exciting fight.

Pacquiao vs Mayweather

Two top guys, people who say they don't want to see it are lying.

Khan vs Bradley

For a true champion in a good division.

Vitali vs Haye

Bring a bit more ****e into HW, as ring deaths at least bring publicity.

Calzaghe vs Ward

To cement the legacy of the greatest SMW of all time.

Just a few off the top of my head.

2 of those are on my list already. The point of those 12 to resurrect boxing as a major player in the sports world (NFL, MLB, NBA, even UFC to a certain extent), were to list the top 12 fights featuring top fighters against top fighters, and fighters that the casual sports fan may know. Martinez-Froch would be exiting, however Ward is going to handle Froch this fall, probably easier than most think. I am predicting a UD for Ward, 8-3-1 (117-112). So, after Ward probably beats Froch, a Martinez-Froch bout would be seemingly pointless. Also, if Martinez for whatever reason decided to go up in weight and fight Froch, he would universally be looked at as a ducker. Why would he go up in weight to fight Froch instead of Ward??? A Martinez-Ward fight would be a huge fight, assumming Ward beats Froch.

I would actually really like to see V. Klitschko-Haye, to see how Haye bounces back. I still think Haye is a solid fighter, but I would pick Klitschko. I only listed Klitschko-Klitschko because its a fight EVERYONE would want to see, almost as much as Mayweather-Pacquiao. That would never happen though, as we all know.

Calzaghe-Ward would be interesting, but Calzaghe being retired for a few years, against a prime Andre Ward...I just don't see Calzaghe winning. I would like to see Calzaghe-Hopkins 2 more than him facing Ward, simply because Joe had a very close call against Bernard, and it was pretty disputed in the final decision. What would you think of Hopkins-Ward at 175, assumming Ward beats Froch and maybe Bute as well. He already said he'll move up to Light Heavyweight sometime soon, especially if Martinez declines to fight him.

[4Corners]

Maidana-Rios should happen.

I'd love to see that as well! That would probably fall under the list of "great fights" and not "dream fights". The reason of those 12 on the list, were to list top fighters against top fighters, but also fighters that could bring the undisputed interest back into boxing. Marcos Maidana is a great fighter, but he's not going to bring int he star status that could resurrect boxing to the casual sports fan. I would list Rios-Maidana under a fight that is great, and most people would love to see. However, its not going to bring the casual fight fans attention. Boxing has many hardcore fans, much like Football, Baseball, Basketball, and UFC. However, Boxing int he last 10-15 years or so, seems to have lost the casual sports fan (which makes up probably 45-50% of sports fans). NFL, MLB, NBA, and even UFC to an extent, have the casual sports fans in their corner. Boxing has lost it, and needs it back. When it appeared they were losing the casual fan back in the 60's, Ali-Frazier 1 happened. Whent hey were losing the casual fan in the late 80's, Tyson-Holyfield happened. When it was losing the casual fan int he late 90's, De La Hoya-Trinidad happened. Now it appears to be losing the casual fight fan sicne the late 00's. Some of those fights need to happen, to garner the attention of the casual sports fan. That was the only reason for this thread. People dogging the matchups are funny, especially since every fighter on that list is a top fighter and very recognizable name.

Boxing is not dead, far from it, but it NEEDS to casual sports fans attention again. Right now, the casual sports fan only cares about Mayweather and Pacquiao.

[Battle*Hardened]

Boxing is possibly the 2nd or 3rd biggest sport in the world.... America isn't as fond of it at the moment, but then again America doesn't like a lot of things the rest of the world does. It's always been on and off in America anyways. At some point it will be back strong in America.

[4Corners]

Boxing is possibly the 2nd or 3rd biggest sport in the world.... America isn't as fond of it at the moment, but then again America doesn't like a lot of things the rest of the world does. It's always been on and off in America anyways. At some point it will be back strong in America.

Very True. Boxing is larger than ever in Europe. I still think that boxers, and even the Euro Boxers know this and say this, they need to fight in America to be on the "worldwide" status, if that makes sense. Obviously, the Klitschko's are a different story, as there are virtually no good American Heavyweights for the past 6 or 7 years at all. Amir Khan and Kell Brook, two of the top Euro fighters, know this. Khan has already come to America many times. Kell Brook needs to get his title shot against Senchenko (who fights nothing but Euro bums), and than come over to America once he whups him. Kell Brook is my favorite non US boxer. He almost cracked my top 5 current fighters, but I just had to go with my countrymen first. If Brook beats Senchenko for the WBA title, I would love to see Andre Berto vs. Kell Brook for the IBF & WBA Wleterweight titles. That would be a pretty good fight, and Berto would be legit again if he beat Brook. And Brook won, that would elevate him to the top 5 of 147.

[MrRolltide91]

No fight can save boxing; its a dumb concept. Floyd could fight manny, the klitschko's could fight eachother, Chavez jr could fight alvarez, cotto could fight oscar de la hoya, and calzaghe could fight dawson all on the same night and it wouldn't "save" boxing.

The biggest thing keeping interest in boxing in the U.S. is the fact that Floyd and Manny haven't fought. Once the mega-fights happen it doesnt make people start watching other fights, generally they hibernate until the next mega fight.

Want to "save" boxing, heres what you do. You start treating the WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF, IBO etc... as the jokes they have become. Have one belt that the fans recognize as "the" belt. Fighters have the ring belt till they lose or are inactive or retire, when that occurs theres an 8 man tourney with fights every 4 months, if you miss a fight you are out. Forbid catchweights in championship fights. Get rid of 1/2 the weight classes. Make them like starbucks weight classes.

Venti-Open
Grande-Under 215
Grande Medium-under 180
Medium-under 165
Small-under 154
Smaller-under 145
Midget-under 135
Dwarf-under 125
Annorexic Dwarf-under 115

Then add in strict judge policies and 5 judges for championship fights. Include a "13th" round which is an "overall" round. After every fight have judges cards reviewed and graded, poor performing judges will not work championship fights.

That would do much more for boxing than any fight or series of fights.

exactly.

i remember people were saying that the floyd/oscar fight was going to save boxing.