Two Fights a Year Isn't Enough

[Larry the boss]

Fighters back in the day got payed a lot less and HAD TO FIGHT MORE..do ya'll even consider the damge these fighters take just in training alone??? think about it..THEY FIGHT IN TRAINING MORE THEN THEY FIGHT IN THE RING!!!!!...ya'll demand so much of these men yet most of ya'll have no idea how much boxing takes out of you..Hell most on here never even been to a damn fitness gym yet alone a boxing gym....

[Larry the boss]

Posters criticizing posters for posting opinions...ludicrous.

What is your boxing background?

[Tony Trick-Pony]

What is your boxing background?

You're just saying this because Mayweather fought twice a year. You're too obvious, man. If I agreed with you, you wouldn't be asking me my boxing background. Whenever it's an opinion that's different so many on here want to complain about the poster criticizing a fighter's actions when these same posters do it all the time with other fighters. Stop using trickery and trying to be slick. It's pointless.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Fighters back in the day got payed a lot less and HAD TO FIGHT MORE..do ya'll even consider the damge these fighters take just in training alone??? think about it..THEY FIGHT IN TRAINING MORE THEN THEY FIGHT IN THE RING!!!!!...ya'll demand so much of these men yet most of ya'll have no idea how much boxing takes out of you..Hell most on here never even been to a damn fitness gym yet alone a boxing gym....

Well, let's think about this. Why do fighters fight? For the money. Without the monetary benefit, none of them would set foot in the ring. Why do they get paid? The market determines that there is an audience of people who are willing to pay money to see them fight. Without these people who are willing to pay, then they have no reason to fight and definitely no incentive. Now the fighter's incentive to fight is important of course but I don't think it compares to the importance of the incentive for the audience to pay to see them. Now at this rate of fighting opponents who are often below the level of the favorite fighter that people are there to see at a rate of twice a year, I don't see the audience growing. I see it shrinking. The fighters would benefit from what I'm talking about. They are fighters. That is their trade. You suggest that every time they step into the ring, they are at risk of taking serious punishment. Those chances are greatly diminished by their own training, the opponent that is often in front of them and the trainers and second men in the corner. Duran and others who fought more often weren't taking beatings when they got into the ring. They were honing their skills and keeping them sharp. Now the audience was just there to see them but they had seen them in bigger fights and didn't care. When you fight twice a year against guys the audience knows you can beat, they start to lose interest and let's face it. People have short memories. You're only as popular as your most recent fight. Asking for my own background as a fighter is nothing more than trying to take this to a personal level. I don't care to get personal about it. We can disagree as posters and that is the greater point. Every one on here is a poster- not a fighter. I am looking at this through the eyes of the consumer as well as the fighter in a way that would benefit them both.

[al-Xander]

It's not even two fights a year now. I've been counting the gap between their previous fights and some of them are supposed to have fought last month or 2-3 months ago; and some are supposed to be announcing their next fights. None of that is happening, therefore they're approaching one-fight-a-year status. Peterson, Quillin, Garcia, Broner, Alexander, Charlo 1 and 2, Trout, Williams, etc.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

It's not even two fights a year now. I've been counting the gap between their previous fights and some of them are supposed to have fought last month or 2-3 months ago; and some are supposed to be announcing their next fights. None of that is happening, therefore they're approaching one-fight-a-year status. Peterson, Quillin, Garcia, Broner, Alexander, Charlo 1 and 2, Trout, Williams, etc.

It's becoming more than ridiculous.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

thats some serious math my dude

Haha, Just pointing out the lack of business these days. It's becoming disheartening.

[Larry the boss]

You're just saying this because Mayweather fought twice a year. You're too obvious, man. If I agreed with you, you wouldn't be asking me my boxing background. Whenever it's an opinion that's different so many on here want to complain about the poster criticizing a fighter's actions when these same posters do it all the time with other fighters. Stop using trickery and trying to be slick. It's pointless.

so whats your boxing background

[Scipio2009]

Some people blame Floyd Mayweather, Jr. for this trend. He might have had a part in it, but I won't say it was only him. Lots of guys have been doing this for a while. In my opinion, the top fighters especially, shouldn't just be stepping into the ring twice a year.

Now I'm not knocking Canelo for this year since it seems that he has another fight on the horizon and three is better than two. Golovkin might get a December date, also and Golovkin has consistently been fighting three times a year for a while which is better than twice. Crawford and Spence could easily fight three times this year as well. So maybe the trend is fading. I certainly hope so.

The big problem I have with this is that it creates a lack of opportunities. Jack Dempsey is one of my favorite champions of all time, but his reign was too lax. He gave way too few guys an opportunity at his title. And I see this with the supposed A-side fighters whatever that means.

Danny Garcia has fought once since January against Guerrero who I didn't see as deserving a shot at anything. Keith Thurman has fought once against Shawn Porter who was a very quality opponent. Still, I doubt he fights again this year. Billy Joe Saunders hasn't fought at all with really no explanation. Fury and Klitschko have dragged out their rematch all year long. Danny Jacobs just fought his first fight this year against a weak opponent. Roman Gonzalez will most likely only fight twice this year and he's number 1 p4p according to the Ring. I think this does not bode well for the sport.

Duran, Chavez, Sr. and so many others fought four-six times a year in their heyday. I would like to see the highly regarded guys fighting at the same. we'd get to see them more often and when they do face weaker opposition, it won't seem nearly so bad when they have a big fight right around the corner. And it would give more guys an opportunity to rise up as well. A fighter who's in his prime fighting twice a year is wasting his time and could be doing much more- making more money, entertaining more crowds and building his record as well.

Boxing is different from what it was even 20 years ago, sports-wise and business-wise. Outside of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Hopkins, Ward and some heavyweights, Wilder and Joshua standing out to me (I have doubts about Golovkin), fighters rarely keep close/near their fighting weights. At the least, most need a hard 8 weeks to be ready to fight at the top level. Consider down time between fights, and 4 fights a year is likely the max a modern fighter can manage. (Chavez Sr fought the guys he fought, but how many of those fights were top level battles each year?)

Beyond that, with the pomp going into staging these fights (and fighters being involved in the upside on the events), you need a certain amount of time to properly market fights.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

I don't mind a fighter fighting twice a year if he is the top dog and every fight he has is a huge event.. Guys like tyson, floyd, manny, Oscar..

But everybody else needs to be fighting 3-4 times a year