Boxing is no longer a sport

[Jack Napier]

it is for guys who don't make big money
dudes who aren't paid big stay hungry to get there
there's plenty of fighters who still strive to face the best comp
this JWW tourney, the S6, and the 118 lb series are good recently

[PhooLzRUs]

"This is prize fighting, you dummy" - Paulie Malignaggi

[Bullrider]

It's been that way since time immemorial. Except that nowadays zero is more important than anything else. They don't even want BIG money. They just want enough to get by as long as the zero is maintained. (I don't even want to mention Floyd.) Look at Broner. His trainer mentioned Malignaggi just the other day and the next day the negotiations are done. It just proves that they can make any fight if they really want to. (And as long as the opponent says yes.)

[KickAzz]

The fact of the matter is that boxing is no longer a sport but a showcase for certain fighters.

Out of all the divisions in boxing there is only 1, maybe 2 divisions in which anyone can say "this is the man in the division".

The top guys in the division are not fighting each other, they're not cleaning out divisions, and so only assumptions are made as to who is the best fighter of the division.

You no longer have to fight the fights, all you need are the sycophants, writers, and announcers to anoint a fighter the best of their class.

That's the equivalent of everyone crowning the Miami Heat as champions without going to the playoffs or finals. Maybe they are the best, but we won't know until they actually play the games.

if that is your definition of sport, then yes, boxing is not a sport.

[bojangles1987]

Wlad has cleaned out heavyweight.

Most the fighters at light heavyweight have fought each other, its just that no one has emerged as the clear best.

Ward has nearly cleaned out super middleweight.

Sergio has fought a lot of contenders, and will continue to do so unless he gets Mayweather.

The guys at 154 are all starting to fight each other.

The guys at 140 are about to have a mini-tourney to determine who the best is.

Mikey Garcia just beat the best at 126 and is the man there.

Donaire and Rigondeaux are about to fight and determine who the man of that division is.

That's 8 divisions where the best have or will fight. If you don't want to count Sergio at middleweight because he hasn't fought everybody and probably won't, then it's still 7 divisions. Boxing is fine.

[LAFIRPO]

Wlad has cleaned out heavyweight.

Most the fighters at light heavyweight have fought each other, its just that no one has emerged as the clear best.

Ward has nearly cleaned out super middleweight.

Sergio has fought a lot of contenders, and will continue to do so unless he gets Mayweather.

The guys at 154 are all starting to fight each other.

The guys at 140 are about to have a mini-tourney to determine who the best is.

Mikey Garcia just beat the best at 126 and is the man there.

Donaire and Rigondeaux are about to fight and determine who the man of that division is.

That's 8 divisions where the best have or will fight. If you don't want to count Sergio at middleweight because he hasn't fought everybody and probably won't, then it's still 7 divisions. Boxing is fine.

I think some of the fight you mentioned are great, and I looking forward to it. But as it stands right now, Andre Ward and Sergio Martinez are the only ones who can claim to be the best fighter of their division. You have outlined them yourself in your response.

Donaire and Rigo are going to go at it but what about Mares. There is a mini tournament by GBP but what about Brandon Rios.

I've followed the sport for about 20 years or so and there were always these issues, but lately, it seems as if the best fights out there are really harder to come by than 8 year or so ago.

People can say what they want about De La Hoya, but Oscar fought Quartey, Mosley, Trinidad and every possible contender at that time. The same could be said for most of the other divisions. Obviously, not all fights were made, but most of the important ones were. Today we jump for joy whenever two top guys in the division fight.

It just seemed more common not too long ago.

I am not sure how you see the sport in great condition when the 2 biggest promoters in the world won't do any business with each other.

And when you have a powerful adviser like Al Haymon produce events that are consistently in favor of their fighters. I hear these HBO announcers say all the time "this is a build up, the fighter is working his way up...." but the next fight we see the same type of showcase fight.

It's kinda like be told that the 4th appetizer is the last one before the meal but all we get are appetizers.

And in my opinion, it's that fear of losing 0. Losing the undefeated record is almost like a death sentence in boxing. And that's ridiculous.

If there is anything I can admire about the UFC is that they don't care about records. They care about putting a show that is competitive and entertaining. While in boxing, it seems that the opposite is true; forget about competitive fights and entertainment, lets preserve that 0 and keep having showcase fights.

[ROSS CALIFORNIA]

The fact of the matter is that boxing is no longer a sport but a showcase for certain fighters.

Out of all the divisions in boxing there is only 1, maybe 2 divisions in which anyone can say "this is the man in the division".

The top guys in the division are not fighting each other, they're not cleaning out divisions, and so only assumptions are made as to who is the best fighter of the division.

You no longer have to fight the fights, all you need are the sycophants, writers, and announcers to anoint a fighter the best of their class.

That's the equivalent of everyone crowning the Miami Heat as champions without going to the playoffs or finals. Maybe they are the best, but we won't know until they actually play the games.

Things have changed, because more money is involved. Now days they fight the biggest money making fights they can win for the most part. Because of that, it sometimes takes a lot longer to see the fights we want to see most. A lot of boxing fans don't understand that and accuse fighters of ducking. Most of the time, its premature to accuse anyone of that. Things take time and people are too impatient.

[bojangles1987]

I think some of the fight you mentioned are great, and I looking forward to it. But as it stands right now, Andre Ward and Sergio Martinez are the only ones who can claim to be the best fighter of their division. You have outlined them yourself in your response.

Donaire and Rigo are going to go at it but what about Mares. There is a mini tournament by GBP but what about Brandon Rios.

I've followed the sport for about 20 years or so and there were always these issues, but lately, it seems as if the best fights out there are really harder to come by than 8 year or so ago.

People can say what they want about De La Hoya, but Oscar fought Quartey, Mosley, Trinidad and every possible contender at that time. The same could be said for most of the other divisions. Obviously, not all fights were made, but most of the important ones were. Today we jump for joy whenever two top guys in the division fight.

It just seemed more common not too long ago.

I am not sure how you see the sport in great condition when the 2 biggest promoters in the world won't do any business with each other.

And when you have a powerful adviser like Al Haymon produce events that are consistently in favor of their fighters. I hear these HBO announcers say all the time "this is a build up, the fighter is working his way up...." but the next fight we see the same type of showcase fight.

It's kinda like be told that the 4th appetizer is the last one before the meal but all we get are appetizers.

And in my opinion, it's that fear of losing 0. Losing the undefeated record is almost like a death sentence in boxing. And that's ridiculous.

If there is anything I can admire about the UFC is that they don't care about records. They care about putting a show that is competitive and entertaining. While in boxing, it seems that the opposite is true; forget about competitive fights and entertainment, lets preserve that 0 and keep having showcase fights.

Pretty sure Wlad and Mikey Garcia have proven to be the best in their division. Mares just moved up, so we'll see what he ends up doing after that. Donaire-Rigondeaux is definitely THE fight at 122, whoever wins that will have earned the right to be called the best.

I think the sport is doing fine. The only division where there's a massive cluster**** that won't get sorted in the near future is welterweight, and that's only because of Mayweather, Pacquiao, and Marquez. Once they're gone, things will get settled. We're getting a lot of "prove you're the best" type fights within these divisions over the next year.

I'm not arguing that boxing has a problem with fights not happening and fighters being protected, but right now things are heading in a good direction.

[devildg]

calm down....

[paulf]

Things have always, always, always been this way. The internet may make things a tad more transparent, but nonetheless, Boxing is as it always was.

Read some A.J. Leibling.


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