Who here was watching during this era???

**New England** · 09-09-2013, 10:51 AM

not me. i was born in '87. i pay 20 a month each for HBO and showtime, and $70 for PPV. i buy all of the worth while cards, and put my foot down and don't buy the absurd ones (mosley - mora, etc.)

**SBleeder** · 09-09-2013, 10:57 AM

Born in 1981 and started watching boxing around 1987 or so. I lived for Sugar Ray Leonard fights.

**VatoMulatto** · 09-09-2013, 11:15 AM

I was born in '88 and started watching boxing 98. My dad introduced me to boxing. Still remember the first time I watched RJJ. He was up against Virgill Hill and my dad told me to watch and learn. WOW...What a performance. That fight made me a huge fan of RJJ and boxing in general.

@ICEMAN A fantasy match-up....Floyd vs RJJ at 154 who would you pick in this fight??

**ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY** · 09-09-2013, 11:33 AM

Originally posted by SBleeder

Born in 1981 and started watching boxing around 1987 or so. I lived for Sugar Ray Leonard fights.

you mean on video?

**ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY** · 09-09-2013, 11:34 AM

@ICEMAN A fantasy match-up....Floyd vs RJJ at 154 who would you pick in this fight??[/QUOTE]

Well, as a pound for pound match Id go with RJJ...over anyone at his best weight of 168...but getting down to 154 would sap him terribly...

**MindBat** · 09-09-2013, 11:38 AM

I think the 80's showcased some of the most exciting events in boxing.

Always looked forward to the Saturday afternoon TV fights.

**CubanGuyNYC** · 09-09-2013, 12:26 PM

Originally posted by ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY

Now THIS IS WHAT IT WAS LIKE IN MY ERA...this is NETWORK TV covering the biggest fights every single weekend...Cosell, Tim Ryan, Gil Clancy, etc etc...In the grand scheme of things today, COMPARITIVELY, boxing SUCKS today ...a lot big fights back then were be on ABC/CBS/NBC on a Saturday at 1 or 4 pm...you saw Arguello-Mancini....you saw guys like Hearns, Duran, Leonard, Hagler, Pryor for FREE back then......you saw Curry-Starling, Leonard-Benitez, etc. during the day on free TV... https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...eLDVd9W0#at=12

Sure, bro. I remember how the New York Daily News and the New York Post used to have a several page spread the day after a major fight, and how they covered the fighters right up until the day of the match. I distinctly remember watching Leonard-Benitez, Arguello-Pryor and many others on free TV. In those days, boxing was still a major sport, not a curiosity covered by obscure journalists known only to its most loyal fans.

I don't know exactly what happened to this sport, but something ate away at it like a cancer and left it a shell of its former self. I would say that PPV had a lot to do with it. Even as a lifelong boxing fan, I refuse to pay for all but the most intriguing and stacked cards. And even then, I won't foot the bill alone. This weekend I'll be chipping in with some neighbors to watch Floyd-Canelo.

**Jack Napier** · 09-09-2013, 12:36 PM

we grew up with dad as a Hagler fan
watched his fights whenever they were on
those were the good old Betamax days
beyond only Hagler fights, caught on to the sport as a whole over time
Tyson and Chavez helped make it concrete

**The Big Dunn** · 09-09-2013, 12:40 PM

I was watching during this era, its why I am a fan today. Hagler-Minter, Mancini-DU koo Kim, Little Red Lopez, Hard Rock Green, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Matthew saad muhammad, Livingstone Bramble etc. etc.

FWIW this is why the ESPN PTI guys say boxing is dead. Boxing used to be bigger than most sports. WHen wide world of sports was popping they'd have great fights on.

I feel bad for today's fans who have to pay for espn, hbo, sho, epix etc etc just to see average fights.

Who here was watching during this era???