Is boxing now about money rather than glory?

[ThePunchingBag]

It used to be all about glory... for the top fighters.

The sport itself has always been about the Money with close ties to the criminal underground.

This generation's greater emphasis on materialism has shifted the mentality of most fighters, especially with guys like Mayweather and Broner to look up to.

[Dirk Diggler UK]

Lol some of these answers, of course money matters but some fighters refuse high risk fights and ask for extortionate amounts of money to duck guys.

It works on a case by case basis. You can't just generalise all cases as ducking.

[Larry the boss]

It used to be all about glory... for the top fighters.

The sport itself has always been about the Money with close ties to the criminal underground.

This generation's greater emphasis on materialism has shifted the mentality of most fighters, especially with guys like Mayweather and Broner to look up to.

That simply is not true man...they just made less and had to fight more..but they all were about the money

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Lol some of these answers, of course money matters but some fighters refuse high risk fights and ask for extortionate amounts of money to duck guys.

You have to look at the top. Four boxing titles is not the boxers' fault. Some, especially Wladimir Klitschko, seek to unify those titles for one recognized world champion. He's won the WBA title twice I think or maybe three times? So he does care about glory.

However, many guys will duck and dodge simply because they are allowed to. If a guy gets a title and decides to fight a string of bums the organization allows him to fight to keep his title, he will do it. As long as he's making money, what's the difference?

I do see your point, though. Any great fighter does seek glory, not just money. Plus, after a few millions dollar paydays, how are they spending their fortunes? If I took punches to get all that money, I damn sure won't blow it all. Rocky Marciano held onto his money with an iron fist and I would, too. But he also fought the best of his era, too.

Look to guys like Duran, Toney, Hearns. Those guys would fight anybody and it was more than just about money for them.

[Yogi007]

It is supposed to be about both. With more glory, comes more money. The problem is that more money = corruption.

[arraamis]

Everything in boxing is about profit, for everyone involved. Always has been and always will be ......

So-called "Glory", which is tied to popularity, often leads to more profit, which is why boxers strive for it, but the two go hand in hand. Compare someone with little to no fan-base and someone with a huge fan-base and the question of glory becomes clear.

[Cinci Champ]

of course it is even fighters who fool the public into thinking its about glory like manny are in it only and at the very least mostly for the cash

[Fists_of_Fury]

It is called Prize Fighting lol. Professional Sports athletes get paid... I'm not sure how people would survive if everyone just worked for free. A lot of these boxers get paid peanuts compared to the wear and tear put on them mentally and physically. Only the upper echelon get paid handsomely. You also forget the money spent on taxes, trainers, equipment, travel fare, manager fee, etc... that the fighter pays himself. Then you have fat cats like Bob Arum raping his cash cow of 27% of his money off the top. Blame the networks, promoters, managers, trainers, etc... along with the fighter for asking for too much money. Quit just blaming the fighters who don't make as much as it seems.

I can't wait to see how this Haymon NBC deal goes. I'd like boxing to become mainstream again. Boxers without any network to tie them down exclusively. I can't stand that I didn't get to see fights because of HBO exclusive and Showtime exclusive deals. I can't stand the promoters having so much say over the fighters like Bob Arum. I noticed most Haymon fighters are not signed to any certain promoter. The fighters need to have more say in who they fight rather than be handed certain options from the matchmakers of the promoter, discussed with the boxers manager(some managers like Koncz paid by the promoter to keep promoters best interest at hand), and then you get a minuscule list of possible fights that you can now sign. Also there are too many belts and corrupt belt organizations along with athletic commissions. There needs to be a true 1 ONE belt organization along with STRICT full random olympic style drug testing and forced mandatories.

[Chiboxing123]

There's still some fighters who fight for the glory
Canelo,hopkins,manny.....

[Rockin']

It's about both. You want the glory but need the money to live off of.

When you lose a fight you lose more than just a fight, and even when you win you've still lost something more times than not.

Fighters would ideally like to retire with a fat bank account, a bunch of glory and the cognitive ability to still be able to recognize the glory and the money that they might have amassed during their careers.

The professional sport is a double edged blade.