Do Fights REALLY Need To SIMMER?

[Tony Trick-Pony]

It's not really a lax attitude, it's just, I've been watching boxing for years (I mean years) and I'm tired of every new flash in the pan who can score a couple KOs being anointed as some sort of superstar.

Then, when they go up against real comp, they get waxed. That is boring to me. You gotta be the No. 1 or No, 2 in your division to be fighting for the belts. I'm tired of a top boxer being the best in his division, then fighting some flash in the pan who the casuals have anointed, then he gets beat and all of a sudden he ain't ****. That just kills the sport.

When a fight between the best two is in the works, then the fight should marinate and in that time we should be seeing the other "contenders" build their stock with fighting each other. That's the problem right there.

Think about this: When Floyd signed his Showtime deal, he fought 6 fights, dude was in his late 30s. What other WW fought as many times as that during that period?

I get the reasoning behind the flash in the pan syndrome. There is plenty of it. I agree. In fact, I think your model works fine. However, I think that in this day and age, that may not work.

There is not and probably won't be one world champion in any division for a long time unless the belts disappear, which I am all for. I'm guessing that you'd like to see them disappear and that those who win the fewer belts have been around proving themselves for a long while by the time they get to the more prestigious title you speak of. That is the way it used to be and still should be. I am with you for sure. I've called for all of the belts to go away and let's have one champion again or even two belts would be okay for unification hype and build up.

In today's age, though man, you have four belts in each class and these flash in the pan guys spring up because of that. They have twenty fights(if that), get on TV a time or two and then get a shot at an ABC trinket that they take from some paper champion who's been hidden and protected against weak contenders and possibly benefitted from hometown decisions and the flash in the pan beats this "champion" and picks up a belt. Well, that holds no merit anymore for us who see through it. But he can hold onto it, defending against guys who aren't tomato cans but not much better and then they get hyped up over a long often very drawn out period and us fans are supposed to care and stay interested in all of that until he gets his marinated hyped fight which will probably disappoint? What is there for a fan to look forward to?

As a fan for years myself, I am tired of Golovkin-Wade, of Kovalev-Pascal II, of Mayweather-Berto and all of the rest. Save the sparring sessions for the gym and deliver the fights everyone wants.

As for the part about his six fights, I'm not sure I understand the argument. I will say I was never knocking him or anybody else for fighting twice a year. That's what they all do now, but if that's the way, then give us quality fights, please.

[Dr Rumack]

I think you're right. It's all about protecting the fighters and letting them keep their "0's". Meanwhile we get one lame ass fight after another.

How is a fight supposed to get hyped up between two guys who are good but not well known by them fighting other guys who are bad and NOT WELL KNOWN? That makes no sense at all.

Now, two guys who have fought the other best guys in their divisions and been involved in some legendary scraps, that makes legends which leads to the big money fights. It's very simple really.

Exactly. It's a major problem with the mindset in the sport at the moment. All the focus is on the negatives of a good match-up. But in reality it's fights like those that lead to new storylines and trajectories in the sport. And there's where interest comes from.

Boxing is like a lame tv drama where a dull plot drags on for an entire season, and after all that waiting you get a pay-off that is a massive let down. That's essentially what Floyd v Manny was, except it dragged on for five seasons rather than one.

A show like that is not going to do well, because there's no surprises, no twists and turns. And that's boxing. A show were the promoters are so desperate to control the storylines that they bore casual onlookers to tears. So they go watch the UFC where tensions get resolved quickly and memorable face-offs come along every episode. And shitty characters like Peter Quilling aren't kept out of harm's way for years in the hopes that someday they might somehow turn out to be interesting .

[Tom Cruise]

Let's use Froch as an example. What if Ward vs Froch happened in round 1 of the super 6 instead of the championship? Would it have been equally as highly anticipated?

That fight was so highly anticipated because Ward and Froch beat everybody else and proved to be the last 2 standing. The super 6 built up that epic showdown.

Super 6 is not an example of marination though. The fights were made and fought between evenly matched competition as and when they became available. Which is what i am advocating as the best format for the sport as a whole.

Marination would be Ward and Froch getting to the final, then waiting a year or two for the fight to grow before making it.

[Boxfan7819]

yes but hopefully not long enough till they are out of their prime years

[Tony Trick-Pony]

No.

Promoters need marinating to maximize profits for any given fight, but it slows fighters ability to make the most money in the least amount of time & while taking the least amount of overall damage + impairing a fighters current & historical legacy & most importantly for fans it further saturates via less big fights that are more spread out in a already highly saturated sport with too many weight divisions & too many champions & networks/promoters at odds that prevent &/or prolong the progress of making big fights. This likely leads to more & more fans drifting away from the sport which likely equals a continually smaller & smaller pool of money that people in boxing are splitting amongst each other. Boxing is cannibalizing itself by marinating fights.

I definitely agree all the way. The sport is in enough trouble without prolonging what the fans want even longer. Giving us great match-ups shouldn't be the exception but the norm.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Super 6 is not an example of marination though. The fights were made and fought between evenly matched competition as and when they became available. Which is what i am advocating as the best format for the sport as a whole.

Marination would be Ward and Froch getting to the final, then waiting a year or two for the fight to grow before making it.

Yes.

That is the difference.

[TOBYLEE1]

As much as I like to see the best fight the best the tease of when they simmer the fights makes it more exciting. When they say no you pay more for it

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Exactly. It's a major problem with the mindset in the sport at the moment. All the focus is on the negatives of a good match-up. But in reality it's fights like those that lead to new storylines and trajectories in the sport. And there's where interest comes from.

Boxing is like a lame tv drama where a dull plot drags on for an entire season, and after all that waiting you get a pay-off that is a massive let down. That's essentially what Floyd v Manny was, except it dragged on for five seasons rather than one.

A show like that is not going to do well, because there's no surprises, no twists and turns. And that's boxing. A show were the promoters are so desperate to control the storylines that they bore casual onlookers to tears. So they go watch the UFC where tensions get resolved quickly and memorable face-offs come along every episode. And shitty characters like Peter Quilling aren't kept out of harm's way for years in the hopes that someday they might somehow turn out to be interesting .

Wow, man. That was the best analogy and makes total sense. Some shows really pull the trigger and get the most from the characters for the enjoyment of the viewer and many don't. Boxing falls into the latter. I think it's also akin to a politician telling the people what they want, disregarding that the people are screaming at them what they want and they turn a deaf ear. Boxing is a perfect example.

[Trinidad_Fan]

All these cooking terms are a cute way to say Fighter X (Canelo) is scared ****less of Fighter Y (GGG), especially at 160. So continuing the cooking analogy, they're waiting until GGG starts to get a little on the raunchy side... before using their leverage to force the fight at 154.

[Mike D]

Why do we have to marinate all these fights? Or let them simmer? Why can't we bake them, or ****, even microwave them?