Has PBC raised boxings popularity so far?

[The Big Dunn]

My friends have an open invitation to drop by for any fight or hockey game or whatever. I have a much larger plasma television than any of my friends and my place tends to be where we hang out for sport events. But in general my single friends are out in the clubs on Friday nights and married friends are busy with their families. In general they only get time on Saturday night for sports. But none of my friends are really boxing fans or MMA fans. They tend to be more into team sports, baseball and CFL in the summer, NFL in the fall and hockey in the winter-spring.

Ok. I was just asking because, again, you have stated repeatedly that YOU do not watch "haymon fights" and want it to fail. So my guess is when "Haymon fights" are on, you do not watch and do not invote friends.

I have 2 TV's and love boxing so we all go to my crib for fights. I of course watch all the fights, HBO, SHO, Spike, bein. ESPN, ect etc.

Either way, PBC has not raised boxing's profile that much as of right now.

[Scipio2009]

the PBC effort just began in March

Whether you like Al Haymon/PBC isnt the topic here. My question is, has boxings return to prime time network television increased its popularity (from what you have heard/seen) amongst casuals & the average sportsfan? Have any coaches/boxers or gym goers seen an increased amount of people wanting to learn the sweet science?

Personally i train my boys out of a MMA dominant gym so im sure you could imagine the slack we get only training for boxin but Pre Pac vs May word around the gym was boxing was going to be making a HUGE comeback & class sizes & memberships were expected to skyrocket, there was even all kinds of talk about boxing being on free tv. Now i know May 2 left a bad taste in fight fans mouths in general but there has literally has been no talk about boxing on primetime since. Im all for boxing for free, hbo, showtime whatever but wasnt the point of boxing being on primetime suppose to "revive" the sport? Because so far its just become an NSB debate & gives true boxing fans a bigger divide in choosing sides...

Not sure where you are, but give it time, especially if the aim is to change the trajectory of the sport.

Michael Jordan didn't become 'Michael Jordan' overnight; it took years of stellar performances to inspire that young generation of his talent and "want to be like Mike"; Kobe and Lebron made similar efforts in expanding the scope of the sport around the world. When Michael Jordan became 'Jordan', he laid the foundation to inspire Kobe, Lebron, and even the international players that started to come to the game.

Boxing is in a similar position, without the true broad unity and quick spread of stars.

Keith Thurman taking his next fight in Tampa, FL is a great move, in the sense that kids/fans in the Tampa area can see a fighter from their area succeed on a national/international stage. Just like Deontay Wilder taking his fight to Alabama, people in that area have a star that they can "put their hands on" and follow.

If Keith Thurman or Deontay Wilder continue to perform well and connect with their fanbases, growing those fanbases (just imagine Wilder actually becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world) and, five years down the line, you'll see a class of fighters starting to emerge, in the amateurs or as pros, who were inspired to box by the fighters that they saw on PBC.

[Scipio2009]

Is that because you only watch fights and invite them over for fights on HBO but not for PBC because you do not like Haymon (as you have repeatedly stated) and want to see this endeavor fail?

^^^^^^^this

[AddiX]

I've yet to hear non boxing fans mention PBC or "boxing on free tv", until I do, PBC hasn't accomplished anything yet, because those are the people they need to survive, once there investment $ is all spent.

[PK3434]

Its only been 4 months, but so far not at all. I really disagree with not using promoters that have a vested interest in the event. If a promoter is guaranteed a certain amount of money just to use their promoter's license, they have no motivation whatsoever...and the PBC promotion is just too corporate and forced to have a quick impact. Despite the talent, none of the PBC guys have buzz similar to someone like Golovkin who is from a freaking country in central asia, many thousands of miles from the US.

[Barcham]

Ok. I was just asking because, again, you have stated repeatedly that YOU do not watch "haymon fights" and want it to fail. So my guess is when "Haymon fights" are on, you do not watch and do not invote friends.

I have 2 TV's and love boxing so we all go to my crib for fights. I of course watch all the fights, HBO, SHO, Spike, bein. ESPN, ect etc.

Either way, PBC has not raised boxing's profile that much as of right now.

I've never said that I do not watch Haymon fights. I watch what is available to me but fights on CBS Sportsnet or NBC Sports channel or ESPN I do not watch as those channels are not available in Canada and so far the fights on those channels have not been worth it to even bother streaming them, IMHO. I will watch the ones on CBS or NBC or Spike if they are interesting to me, but will not bother with crap like Garcia-Peterson at a catchweight with no titles at stake. I would not watch that no matter the station it was on. Other fights such as Lee - Quillin, I tuned in every few rounds to see what was going on because it was too boring to sit and watch the entire fight.

I actually dumped one station to add Spike to my lineup for the Belator fights but will watch PBC if the fights warrant it. I did have friends over the night of the Lara fight and we ended up watching a movie instead by popular demand.

As for PBC failing... I do not particularly want it to fail but I am intelligent enough to realize that it has no hope of surviving in it's present form and believe it is poorly conceived and run and will do more damage to boxing than anything else. I would like to see it change and embrace the history of the sport and show some respect for the titles, for the fighters, for the fighters' teams and for the fans and to be opened up to all fighters from any and all promoters. But that is another discussion entirely which has been had many times since PBC started.

[AddiX]

Its only been 4 months, but so far not at all. I really disagree with not using promoters that have a vested interest in the event. If a promoter is guaranteed a certain amount of money just to use their promoter's license, they have no motivation whatsoever...and the PBC promotion is just too corporate and forced to have a quick impact. Despite the talent, none of the PBC guys have buzz similar to someone like Golovkin who is from a freaking country in central asia, many thousands of miles from the US.

Great point, I've been saying it forever, Showtime, Haymon, and PBC, can't build stars or big fights.

They simply don't know how to do it, and are not good at it. All of the biggest nakes in the sport have been built by HBO.

[LOWBLOW_CHAMP]

as far as ive seen yes i know alot of people that dont normally watch boxing turn into pbc and enjoyed it

[STAX ON DECK]

well i will be completely honest the dudes on my block are now more internersted then ever,before i wouldnt invite peeps over for fights cause lets be honest dont nobody want to see rios brawling against some spanish bum named alvacado 5 times but they do want to see skills involved in this game,

thats why i started hosting fight parties at my place when PBC came out,i mean it was completely stacked for the broner fight ,im not gonna lie my couch actually broke off the hinges lmao **** ikea with they cheap ass made in china shiet

[Ray*]

Still early days. Am impress doe so far because i thought we would see no names, less competitive match ups but have been proven wrong so far.