Why is there so much inactivity from present day boxers?

[Guest]

Yeah but then you get those top CEOs that are workaholics. I actually shouldve commended Floyd, he has been fighting twice a year as of recent years and hes the higheest paid athlete in the world. Guys like Robert Guerrero, Chavez Jr etc take their $ and you dont hear from them til the following year.

Even Floyd took a long break after he got the De La Hoya/ Hatton money.

I think part of it is human nature. You get 4 mil like Chavez got, and your first thought isn't ****, i gotta get back to work. It's more like, I am straight now I don't have to do anything.

[BostonGuy]

There are only so many HBO/SHO/PBC /European televised spots during the year. The televised spots are usually where a fighter makes the most money. If you're fighting frequently there's a risk that you lose a fight or get injured and that jeopardizes the televised big money fights.

The flipside of this is, if you're not fighting frequently enough; you're not sharp and appealing to your fan base.

[12TRIBEsRiSe]

Are boxers making to much $ nowadays? Is it because of promotional issues? To many sanctioning world titles?

Personally I think present athletes of all sports make a huge amount of money than forget about their careers. Many big name boxers take career high paydays than take a year plus off than they comeback to get smashed and its always the same old story with them pre-fight, "there will be no ring rust, I stay in the gym" or "Im in shape all year round".

Im not a GGG fan but I will commend him for fighting very often. I think thats what keeps him sharp and in shape. He basically stays in fighting shape all year round making it easy for a large framed guy like him to make 160.

GMOs AND MORE MONEY

[juggernaut666]

Boxers are training longer and harder for a specific opponent...there is more footage and resources nowadays to study an opponent.Boxers today are hard pressed if they lose they will fall down the ladder to the bottom and have to work their way up again...the other is money a guy like Mayweather will put all time and effort into one fight a year,back in the day a loss was a loss the money being generated now,fighting multiple opponetns a year is to risky for most champs who want to be in peak condition for that one fight..

[soul_survivor]

Stop all the BS, it's simple. Has nothing to do with training, or TV dates, it' all about money. When the top fighters, including those who fight at a high domestic/continental level, fight 3 or max 4 times a year, means that they are making enough money to live and live comfortably.

Guys who are the very top on the world stage, fight twice a year cos they make millions. It's all about money and nothing else.

[New England]

why fight 10 times for 10K per when you can fight once for 100K?



in short, in moderation, inactivity lengthens a fighter's career - particularly if he doesn't have bad habits.

[-PBP-]

Stop all the BS, it's simple. Has nothing to do with training, or TV dates, it' all about money. When the top fighters, including those who fight at a high domestic/continental level, fight 3 or max 4 times a year, means that they are making enough money to live and live comfortably.

Guys who are the very top on the world stage, fight twice a year cos they make millions. It's all about money and nothing else.

Gary Russell doesn't make millions and fights 2 x per year. Richar Abril is inactive and doesn't make millions. Plenty of examples.

[SthPaw]

I think it is just one of the ways the sport has evolved over the years. Decades ago you could find examples of guys with 100+ fights, nowadays fighters seem to be nearing the end after about 60.

It is a good question though, you will notice with virtually every fighter that the first few years of their careers they are very active, some guys upwards of even more than 5 or 6 bouts even. Look at Mike Tyson, incredibly active in his early years yet towards the end was seldom seen in comparison.

There are many factors, but it is most likely to do with making tons of money. As somebody said before me; why fight 10 times a year for 10k a pop when you can fight once for 100k. It makes sense. Plus the bigger a fighter gets, the more build up the fight may get, therefore taking up time.

[Dr Rumack]

Premium Network TV is the main reason. The modern-day fighters entire career strategy is based on acquiring regular TV slots on the biggest networks. That's the measure of 'who's at the top' for fighters nowadays.

Some guys get auditions for those slots, like Provodnikov against Bradley for example, and they impress. Some guys don't and disappear for a while, or disappear for good.

It's worth noting that the majority of fighters aren't particularly inactive, just the relatively small group who have those slots nailed down. Once they have them, it's all about keeping them. Nothing else matters.

[soul_survivor]

Gary Russell doesn't make millions and fights 2 x per year. Richar Abril is inactive and doesn't make millions. Plenty of examples.

read my damn post. I didn't say a fighter has to make millions to be "inactive" I said they earn a lot more money. Guys like Russel make 10s of thousands per fight, they make more in one fight than similar level of fighters would make in 5 or 6 just 25-30 years ago. BTW Russel isn't the best example, he has fought 14 times in the last 4 years and was very busy before he reached his current financial level. Again, it all comes down to money.