When/Why did Boxing stop being about proving who is really the Best?

[Slip Stream]

It has always been about the benjamins tho but boxing as a business has found a way to make money off people without ever having to fulfill promise of making the best fight for the fans....that used to be a given not right away but eventually there was no doubt the 2 best would clash. Now we have imaginary best fighters and impossible fights, and fighters and promoters being perfectly content with that because people have submitted to it being a reality too.

Also the turning of the sport into a reality tv show Ali used to put on a show but he could back it up and people knew he was the goods because he proved it ..... now we got people who networks try to sell because of how they sell themselves not because of their merits as a fighter. It makes me sick every time i gotta watch a hypejob beat on a tomato can on a major network that **** belongs on espn and people telling me that it was a great entertaining fight because he is abusing on a clearly mismatched opponent but it looks good to them so the guy must be great...that is just ridiculous.

It isn't ridiculous from a promoter's point of view, from their point of view they're capitalizing off of fans and turning a tidy profit as a result. True fight fans are nauseated but where's the incentive for promoters to do this differently, especially if the way they're doing it now works?

Reality television is how it works these days, it just is. We can resist this idea or accept it and move on, i.e. it is what it is.....

[joe strong]

boxing has always been run by people looking to make money.

promotors and fighters put on and participate in boxing matches for money.


if they didn't get rich, these guys would not put their lives on the line. you can die in there.

if you watch enough boxing you should understand that.

I agree with you completely. it surprising so many people don't get this concept of making money in boxing. NOBODY fights for prestige. it's all about the money & nothing else. if you can't see this then you are always going to be disappointed. lennox lewis is one of the few fighters who actually went after the best because he saw dollar signs & was confident he could beat anybody. he hated mandatories & always called them a thorn in his side. no money in mandatories. today's champions best opposition only happens when the sanctioning bodies force a mandatory on them...