The State Of Boxing In Five Years?

[Redeaux]

Whenever people ask me this question I always point out that nobody would have believed an ultra-defensive, low-entertainment, convicted domestic abuser would be the PPV king. And that his fight with a small little fighter from the Philippines of all places would be worth $550 Million and draw 4.5 million viewers at $99 a viewing per head. Anybody can become a star, but those things take time, and certain things have to be in place, it's impossible to predict what the landscape will be in 5 years time. For all we know, some 16 year old kid today could dominate the world before their 21st birthday, it's complete guesswork.

I will say this though. Boxing is acknowledging its flaws. One of the great things about the boxing fanbase it doesn't BS about the product. It'll call out a bad match up, it'll get onto fighters backs if they aren't performing. A fighting sport produces fans with that same fighting spirit. There will be changes as fans vote with their TV remotes and presence at events, and those in the business will want a share of that next $550 million payday, the two have to come together.

I partly come from a golf background. Now that is a sport that is legitimately dying. Participation is down, prices are up, TV ratings down, its biggest star is dead in the water, and they just found a new superstar in Jordan Speith but hardly anyone cares about him, he doesn't move the needle in the same way. The fanbase is older/dying (literally), more rural too. Yet you go into any club and ask about this and whatever member is there will say 'What problem? There's nothing wrong with golf it's fine, traditions...'. At least boxing fans are aware of their issues and own their problems, that gives me hope.

[Eff Pandas]

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).

I think the under 30 audience is exactly why MMA's future is just gonna get bigger. There are under 30 combat sports fans that see boxing as the pro wrestling of combat sports already. Ronda Rousey probably gets more mainstream media coverage than any boxer except Mayweather now. Jon Jones was getting a lot of mainstream coverage til he Mike Tyson'd his career. Conor McGregor supposedly just got the best MMA PPV numbers in their history vs a late sub. MMA isn't going anywhere. Boxing isn't either. **** whats the last sport to die any damn way? That curling bs is still around ffs.

[Jc8804]

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.

Must be hard for tmt fans to imagine boxing without fraud and a shot manny. But in reality real boxing fans know boxing moves on . AlwaYs does

[RSBonos]

I think the under 30 audience is exactly why MMA's future is just gonna get bigger. There are under 30 combat sports fans that see boxing as the pro wrestling of combat sports already. Ronda Rousey probably gets more mainstream media coverage than any boxer except Mayweather now. Jon Jones was getting a lot of mainstream coverage til he Mike Tyson'd his career. Conor McGregor supposedly just got the best MMA PPV numbers in their history vs a late sub. MMA isn't going anywhere. Boxing isn't either. **** whats the last sport to die any damn way? That curling bs is still around ffs.

The MMA demo that they care about with younger males is not that much different for PBC shows etc, and boxing has the latino market cornered.

[bojangles1987]

Boxing actually looks to be in a strong place going forward. Saul Alvarez is damn near a mega star, The Golovkin/Ward/Kovalev triangle is likely to produce at least one superstar by the time it settles. Welterweight is stacked with talent, and if one guy can emerge from that he'll be a star. Terrence Crawford is being groomed nicely to be Top Rank's next star, and no one builds stars like Top Rank. If Wilder is the real deal, he'll be a superstar. Hell, he could be bigger than Floyd if he beat Wlad. Joshua might be a superstar as well if he's for real. Featherweight is crackling with talent. The lower divisions almost certainly won't produce a superstar, but you never know, and there's some great talent there.

Add in PBC putting boxing back on free TV and boxing is looking pretty good.

[StefanTosic]

Every time a big star retires, it leaves a void in the division for the next 2-3 years if there isn't some fresh face to replace them immediately but it doesn't have to be that bad if some good match-ups are made.

Remember boxers are just one half of the equation, the other one are promoters who often chose to pair let's say a 5 star fighter with a 3 star fighter and we are so used to it and accepting it as a norm, instead of complaining loud enough against it. They lowered our expectations. Even 4 star fighters fight 3 star fighters way more often than they should. That's why even with such stars in the game today fans aren't fully satisfied. The business changed - some promoters found a way to get money while keeping their product safe so it enables them to get more money in the long run.

I'd even say promoters are more important than top-notch prospects because there is always some talent in the world, it's up to promoters to bring them up. Showcasing them against average opponents does't help talented boxers to show their skills to the world.

When Floyd retires boxing will lose one 5 star fighter (and there aren't a lot of them today to begin with), but it wouldn't be a problem at all if politics change. If they start putting 4 star fighters against 4 star fighters all the time it would be great and the new superstars would emerge out of those fights. Pacquiao wasn't seen as a top notch prospect neither and was underdog in a lot of his fights but turned out to be an incredible fighter. To step up their skills boxers need tough challenges. Let's say if you beat 5 very good fighters it shows you are one level above them. They used to make a lot more of that kind of fights till about 2004.

Prehaps this is excatly what I'm trying to say:

Maybe none of them will reach the level of greatness Floyd or Pac reached, but all we can ask is for them to fight each other. If none of these fighters are great or special, it means we get more competitive fights and less one-sided affairs. That isn't something to hate on at all.

[kiaba360]

Boxing actually looks to be in a strong place going forward. Saul Alvarez is damn near a mega star, The Golovkin/Ward/Kovalev triangle is likely to produce at least one superstar by the time it settles. Welterweight is stacked with talent, and if one guy can emerge from that he'll be a star. Terrence Crawford is being groomed nicely to be Top Rank's next star, and no one builds stars like Top Rank. If Wilder is the real deal, he'll be a superstar. Hell, he could be bigger than Floyd if he beat Wlad. Joshua might be a superstar as well if he's for real. Featherweight is crackling with talent. The lower divisions almost certainly won't produce a superstar, but you never know, and there's some great talent there.

Add in PBC putting boxing back on free TV and boxing is looking pretty good.

I think HBO's partnership with Gonzalez is pivotal in the future treatment and coverage of the sub-126lb divisions. Let's hope that Chocolatito/Gallito 2 is as big as it deserves to be.

[StefanTosic]

People who claim boxing has been dieing don't know anything about the history of the sport. Boxing has died many times to come back and reign as the biggest sport to drop back down again to be critized about the "death" of boxing. When Ali left, Holmes took over boxing was dead and then a little man from New York named Mike Tyson came around bring the sport back to its prime. Tyson went down and De La Hoya came around. It's a circle!

That's true, like I said there is always a new talent being born. On the other hand what's new and what worries me a lot is a fact that business changed. The talent level keeps variating and going up and down, but boxers always used to challenge theirselves but nowdays they make it look acceptable to keep fighting average fighters, that's why I'm saying promoters are worrying me way more than a talent pool.

[Boxfan83]

As long as there are Mexicans, there will be boxing. Dont trip the brown hold it down...

[.:: JSFD26 ::.]

I think you'll be surprised how things play out. The next king is right in front of our face. They just haven't lifted the curtain.

Don't forget that Floyd and Pacquiao both showed vulnerability earlier in their careers. It's those fights that molded them and gave them that championship-caliber experience. One of these elite fighters you see today will emerge in similar fashion.

I get what you're saying but who looks elite right now? Seriously.

Maybe Crawford? Thurman? Canelo?

It's too early to really tell about others such as Spence cause look what happened with Broner. People were ready to crown him but little did they know. They were blinded by the flashyness vs bums.