The State Of Boxing In Five Years?

[mikinoki]

I honestly don't believe any of those guys are as good as May and Pac were in their prime although some of the guys you listed are very good. Chocolatito is a small guy who doesn't speak English and hasn't fought anyone of note. Rigondeaux is one of the greatest pure boxers ever but he's shafted by the media and critics who don't know **** about boxing, plus he's getting old. the rest of the guys you listed I seriously doubt will be huge stars in the future. They either are not talented enough or have no personality.

You clearly are a very negative person.In the list I presented to you fighter who are skilled like Lomachenko ad Rigoone of the best amateur of all time),exciting fighters like GGG and Kovalev,fighetr with personality like Wilder and you still are being a negative.Clearly you're not into this sport.

[Weltschmerz]

If people think boxing is in a bad state now. It will only get worse when Floyd and Manny retire. Floyd is considered to be the last great American prize fighter. He is a special talent. Not just a good fighter but a great one. I recall Jim Lampley saying "never has it been more clear who the sports best pound for pound fighter is."

Pacquiao not only was an exciting fighter he was a rare talent. A former flyweight who had gone up to win the welterweight title. These guys don't get a ton of hype for no reason. They got their hype because they were truly gifted boxers.

Boxing has been on the decline in the U.S. for years now. People just aren't as interested in the sport as they were years ago. The dissatifaction with boxing started long before Mayweather became a superstar. Mayweather and Pacquiao are the sports only true superstars. They brought a lot of attention to the sport. Soon they, Bernard Hopkins, and Vladimir Klitschko will all be retired. And when that happens there will be a huge void left in the sport.If you think boxing is on its last legs now just wait and see what happens when its last superstars are gone.

These young and up and coming fighters are good but I don't see that special level of talent in them that I saw in Floyd and Manny. I doubt Keith Thurman, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, Amir Khan, or Adrien Broner will be dominant fighters by the time they are in their mid 30s like Floyd and Manny were. Most people don't even know who these guys are and they are in their primes right now!

Hearing boxing fans say "I can't wait for Floyd and Manny to retire" is like hearing a little kid saying they can't wait to grow up only to later find out how difficult being an adult truly is. You guys think being a boxing fan is tough now just wait and see what it's like in five years.

Well, stick to MMA/UFC then.

Boxing will never die.

[ElMeroChingon]

If people think boxing is in a bad state now. It will only get worse when Floyd and Manny retire. Floyd is considered to be the last great American prize fighter. He is a special talent. Not just a good fighter but a great one. I recall Jim Lampley saying "never has it been more clear who the sports best pound for pound fighter is."

Pacquiao not only was an exciting fighter he was a rare talent. A former flyweight who had gone up to win the welterweight title. These guys don't get a ton of hype for no reason. They got their hype because they were truly gifted boxers.

Boxing has been on the decline in the U.S. for years now. People just aren't as interested in the sport as they were years ago. The dissatifaction with boxing started long before Mayweather became a superstar. Mayweather and Pacquiao are the sports only true superstars. They brought a lot of attention to the sport. Soon they, Bernard Hopkins, and Vladimir Klitschko will all be retired. And when that happens there will be a huge void left in the sport.If you think boxing is on its last legs now just wait and see what happens when its last superstars are gone.

These young and up and coming fighters are good but I don't see that special level of talent in them that I saw in Floyd and Manny. I doubt Keith Thurman, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, Amir Khan, or Adrien Broner will be dominant fighters by the time they are in their mid 30s like Floyd and Manny were. Most people don't even know who these guys are and they are in their primes right now!

Hearing boxing fans say "I can't wait for Floyd and Manny to retire" is like hearing a little kid saying they can't wait to grow up only to later find out how difficult being an adult truly is. You guys think being a boxing fan is tough now just wait and see what it's like in five years.

quit crying

I can wait until FLoyd retires, last time he "retired"(vacation), A small fighter from the Philippines took over boxing, brought it to the forefront with exciting fights, brought fans together.

Floyd comes back and it's the same anticlamatic *****, money this, dont care about fans that, and something about health, yada yada yada.....

Out with the old, in with the new. It's going to be hard for some guys on here, especially the Mayweather/Pac only fans. Hopefully it clears up the board a bit.

[Johnwoo8686]

4.4 has nothing to do with "personality"

you're talking about a guy who barely speaks english and an american who speaks even worse english who went to jail for making his kids watch him beat their mother

it sold that many ppvs because they were highly ranked on p4p lists and built it up for 6+ years beating other popular fighters, "absorbing" their audiences

Someone will always top the p4p list.. It doesn't go away when someone retires

And lets hope we never see the 6 year buildup ever again

That has everything to do with personality. Floyd's personal along with the villainous persona he has displayed for years was a large part of why this fight was so hyped. Don't be naive. Casual fans don't care about pound for pound lists. This fight was sold as the humble Filipino against the ****y American and that's in part why so many people wanted to see it.

The pound for pound lists will always be around but there is a reason why fighters before and most likely after will never do 4.4 million buys no matter how high they are on the pound for pound list.

[Johnwoo8686]

You clearly are a very negative person.In the list I presented to you fighter who are skilled like Lomachenko ad Rigoone of the best amateur of all time),exciting fighters like GGG and Kovalev,fighetr with personality like Wilder and you still are being a negative.Clearly you're not into this sport.

Not being negative, just being real. The public doesn't even know who those guys are and they are in their primes right now! Sorry bud.

[HEND]

Canelo, Crawford, Joshua. I think they will be boxing's next superstars.

Ward, Beterbiev and Roman Gonzalez will be P4P top fighters too but they nevrr will be crossover stars.

Thurman, Matthysse, Walters, Loma, Barthelemy, Brook, Degale, Kovalev, Danny Garcia... all of these have the chance to become certified P4P fighters after the Floyd era but only a few of them has chance to become a superstar.


I don't count fighters who are already older (Rigo, GGG,Cotto, Klit) or fighters who I think have just a little time in the game before they retire and they did the most in this era (Bradley)

[Ham Porter]

I think we'll continue to see the emergence and domination of a lot more Eastern European fighters. High Quality amateur fighters that will look at the success of Kovalev, Golovkin, Lomachenko, see the level of recognition and popularity they've enjoyed with the backing of major television networks in the United States and figure they want a piece of that.

Despite the obvious decline of American boxing, the old Soviet bloc continue to produce top talent, and now you have networks that HBO that are willing to back and showcase them.

[Alpha & Omega]

Boxing will be fine, people just keep wanting to discuss its demise for some absurd reason. Casual fans are always bringing this up somehow. Boxing has been around as a sport in some form or fashion for over 2000+ years so it will be fine. The concept, lure/attraction and desire to see and engage in hand to hand combat will never go away as long as humans are on this planet.

Also understand that boxing is insanely popular across the globe, why does everyone think what's loved in America means everything? The most popular sport in the world (soccer) is barely even watched in America in comparison to other sports.

Go worry more about MMA's future more than boxing's. That is a sport that has only been around for 22 years and it's already plateaued. UFC is around still because it has a monopoly on the sport but the fighters still don't make much money even at the highest level. Most people who are Mma fans say boxing is dying but that's because their sport is more of a fad, a trendy gimmick. I don't even know anyone who watches the UFC anymore since like 2006-2008? Well no one over 30 at least. In 5-10 years MMA will be like pro wrestling (it already has 90% of the same fan base so).

[bojangles1987]

Yeah, yeah, just like Tyson was the last star, then Oscar was the last star, then Mayweather was the last star, then Pacquiao and Mayweather together were the only thing keeping boxing alive.

Boxing will be fine. There is plenty of special talent out there, and once Mayweather and Pacquiao are gone that talent will start getting attention.

[soul_survivor]

There will always be PPV stars, Canelo will probably lead the way unless Cotto beats him worse than even I expect.

What intrigues me is AJ, a rising star in the UK, a world heavyweight title beckons within 5 years and with his English language roots and good looks, he could really be the next cross over star and the first in the division since the end of Tyson/Lewis/Holyfield era.