Remember Back Before Al Haymon and PBC We Always Got The Best Fights?

[-PBP-]

HBO's schedule from 1998 before PBC ruined boxing:

DEC 19
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs Angel Manfredy
DEC 12
Ivan Robinson vs Arturo Gatti
NOV 28
Luisito Espinoza vs Kennedy McKinney
NOV 14
Roy Jones, Jr. vs Otis Grant
OCT 31
Naseem Hamed vs Wayne McCullough
OCT 24
David Reid vs James Coker
OCT 03
Gernaro Hernandez vs Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
SEP 26
Lennox Lewis vs Zeljko Mavrovic
SEP 18
Oscar De La Hoya vs Julio Cesar Chavez
SEP 12
Erik Morales vs Junior Jones
AUG 22
Arturo Gatti vs Ivan Robinson
JUL 18
Roy Jones, Jr. vs Lou Del Valle
JUN 13
Oscar De La Hoya vs Patrick Charpentier
MAY 31
Michael Grant vs Obed Sullivan
MAY 09
Shane Mosley vs John John Molina
APR 25
Roy Jones, Jr. vs Virgil Hill
MAR 28
Lennox Lewis vs Shannon Briggs
MAR 14
Keith Mullings vs Davide Ciarlante
FEB 06
William Guthrie vs Reggie Johnson
JAN 31
Bernard Hopkins vs Simon Brown
JAN 17
Arturo Gatti vs Angel Manfredy

Look familiar? Not saying there aren't some good fights on that list, but let's be real. You just have top fighters making title defenses against other contenders. No super megafights, not many 1s vs 2s.

The sport had a mega PPV a year earlier that resulted in an ear biting incident and you heard the chants of "boxing is dead". You also had a couple of big Oscar PPVs with Whitaker and Camacho which each did over 500K buys. The year later, probably one of the worst years in boxing that I can recall.

Kind of in a similar position we are in now. Last year we had May/Pac and Canelo/Cotto.

Where we stand now is just breeding the next generation of fighters to carry us into the next era.

[about.thousands]

Some good fights on there. But there were also more fights so I can understand a cpl being showcase. Now it seems like less fight but just as many showcase fights if not more. Do you have the undercards for those fights?

[-PBP-]

Some good fights on there. But there were also more fights so I can understand a cpl being showcase. Now it seems like less fight but just as many showcase fights if not more. Do you have the undercards for those fights?

This has everything by year:

http://www.hbo.com/boxing/fights/1998

[MrRolltide91]

Good thread...

[Vasyl’s dad]

Al Haymon gonna save boxing doe.

[The Big Dunn]

The only problem is comparing anything pre and post internet. The problem is now boxing fans have too much information.

I bet there were a number of CW unification fights other than ODH/bhop or chavez sr/sweet pea. without the internet, fans just enjoyed the fights. Now, fans will moan for 3 months leading up to the fight about the CW and all the info surrounding it. Makes the fight 10 times less enjoyable.

Every fight can't be a great one. Fans used to enjoy all levels of fights.. Now it seems some only can enjoy it when its on one network and the guy fighting is a star.

[al-Xander]

I could bet that those guys were not getting $1 million per fight. $250K is probably the average. Maybe even significantly less.

Exactly why top fighters are not prompted to fight more often these days. Why would they? They can actually retire after fighting 2 bums ($1 million per fight.)

Haymon has destroyed boxing.

[The Big Dunn]

I could bet that those guys were not getting $1 million per fight. $250K is probably the average. Maybe even significantly less.

Exactly why top fighters are not prompted to fight more often these days. Why would they? They can actually retire after fighting 2 bums.

what connection is there between fighters purse and whether you enjoy a fight or not?

[ИATAS]

God, what I would give for a 2006. 32 fights on HBO


Edison Miranda vs Willie Gibbs

Decision: Miranda KO 1
12 rounds, Middleweight
Jason Litzau vs Jose Hernandez
Decision: Hernandez KO 8
10 rounds, Featherweight
DEC 09
Jermain Taylor vs Kassim Ouma

Decision: Taylor W 12
12 rounds, Middleweight
DEC 02
Winky Wright vs Ike Quartey

Decision: Wright W 12
12 rounds, Middleweight
NOV 25
Juan Manuel Marquez vs Jimerex Jaca

Decision: Marquez KO 9
12 rounds, Featherweight
NOV 18
Manny Pacquiao vs Erik Morales

Decision: Pacquiao KO 3
12 rounds, Super Featherweight
NOV 11
Wladimir Klitschko vs Calvin Brock

Decision: Klitschko KO 7
12 rounds, Heavyweight
NOV 04
Carlos Baldomir vs Floyd Mayweather

Decision: Mayweather W 12
12 rounds, Welterweight
OCT 21
Daniel Ponce De Leon vs Al Seeger

Decision: De Leon TKO 8
12 rounds, Featherweight
OCT 14
Joe Calzaghe vs Sakio Bika

Decision: Calzaghe W 12
12 rounds, Super Middleweight
OCT 07
Nikolai Valuev vs Monte Barrett

Decision: Valuev TKO 11
12 rounds, Heavyweight
SEP 23
Jorge Arce vs Hawk Makepula

Decision: Arce TKO 4
12 rounds, Flyweight
SEP 16
Marco Antonio Barrera vs Rocky Juarez

Decision: Barrera W 12
12 rounds, Junior Lightweight
AUG 19
Paul Williams vs Sharmba Mitchell

Decision: Williams TKO 4
12 rounds, Welterweight
AUG 05
Ike Quartey vs Vernon Forrest

Decision: Forrest W 12
10 rounds, Junior Middleweight
JUL 29
Vivian Harris vs Stevie Johnston

Decision: Harris TKO 7
10 rounds, Jr. Welterweight
Joshua Clottey vs Richard Gutierrez
Decision: Clottey W 12
12 rounds, Welterweight
JUL 22
Carlos Baldomir vs Arturo Gatti

Decision: Baldomir KO 9
12 rounds, Welterweight
JUL 15
Shane Mosley vs Fernando Vargas

Decision: Mosley TKO 6
12 rounds, Jr. Middleweight
JUN 24
Calvin Brock vs Timur Ibragimov

Decision: Brock W 12
12 rounds, Heavyweight
Joel Julio vs Carlos Quintana
Decision: Quintana W 12
12 rounds, Welterweight
JUN 17
Jermain Taylor vs Winky Wright

Decision: Draw
12 rounds, Middleweight
JUN 10
Antonion Tarver vs Bernard Hopkins

Decision: Hopkins W 12
12 rounds, Light Heavyweight
MAY 27
Jhonny Gonzalez vs Fernando Montiel

Decision: Gonzalez W 10
12 rounds, Bantamweight
Walter Matthysse vs Paul Williams
Decision: Williams TKO 10
12 rounds, Welterweight
MAY 20
Marco Antonion Barrera vs Rocky Juarez

Decision: Barrera W 12
12 rounds, Jr. Lightweight
MAY 13
Luis Collazo vs Ricky Hatton

Decision: Hatton W 12
12 rounds, Welterweight
MAY 06
Oscar De La Hoya vs Ricardo Mayorga

Decision: De La Hoya TKO 6
12 rounds, Light Middleweight
APR 29
Acelino Freitas vs Zahir Raheem

Decision: Freitas W 12
12 rounds, Lightweight
Andre Ward vs Andy Kolle
Decision: Ward TKO 6
8 rounds, Middleweight
APR 22
Chris Byrd vs Wladimir Klitschko

Decision: Klitschko TKO 7
12 rounds, Heavyweight
APR 08
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Zab Judah

Decision: Mayweather W 12
12 rounds, Welterweight
MAR 18
Hasim Rahman vs James Toney

Decision: Draw
12 rounds, Heavyweight
MAR 04
Miguel Cotto vs Guanluca Branco

Decision: Cotto TKO 5
12 rounds, Jr. Welterweight
FEB 25
Fernando Vargas vs Shane Mosley

Decision: Mosley TKO 10
12 rounds, Jr. Middleweight
JAN 28
Arturo Gatti vs Thomas Damgaard

Decision: Gatti TKO 10
12 rounds, Welterweight
JAN 21
Erik Morales vs Manny Pacquiao

Decision: Pacquiao TKO 10
12 rounds, Super Featherweight

[-PBP-]

I could bet that those guys were not getting $1 million per fight. $250K is probably the average. Maybe even significantly less.

Exactly why top fighters are not prompted to fight more often these days. Why would they? They can actually retire after fighting 2 bums.

Dudes just be making **** up:

Jones vs. Del Valle

Jones earned $2 million and Del Valle got $850,000