Two Fights a Year Isn't Enough

[al-Xander]

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

You're dreaming if you expect these new breed of fighters to fight 3-4 times a year when 2x a year is a struggle. This is not going to end until Haymon runs out of money giving away millions of dollars for meaningless fights.

[Tom Cruise]

its fine if all the fights are meaningful. But two fights a year when you are fighting Bs stay busy fights is a joke.

Stay busy fights should be what you cram in between the big fights to keep yourself sharp. Not the sht you put on Mexican independence day card (not to single out Canelo, its just the freshest in the mind)

[Sugar Adam Ali]

You're dreaming if you expect these new breed of fighters to fight 3-4 times a year when 2x a year is a struggle. This is not going to end until Haymon runs out of money giving away millions of dollars for meaningless fights.

It's not just haymon.. The fact that showtime and hbo has cut the budget and amount of shows doesn't help either

[WarVeteranO01]

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.

One of the big problems is all these guys nowadays seem to think they are Mayweather but (love or hate) Mayweather I think we can all agree none of them could lace the mans boxing shoe. These current day boxers need to really think about their career more. Sure 1.5 million is a very nice payday but if you live in the U.S. that can be gone very quick if not invested properly and most boxers dont have anything to fall back on so they should keep their fighting resume full. There are also certain fighters and certain styles that need to stay active to be good. Aggressive boxers and volume punchers benefit the most by staying active because they rely on timing. A more athletic fighter can be out of the ring longer because they can rely more on their athleticism/speed over timing.

One of the main reasons GGG is so good despite his level of opponent is because he stays active 3-4 times a year is good for a multi belt champ IMO. The style he relies on depends on timing of the hands and feet. Chavez had a similar style and look how active he was.

And lastly, I think this age in boxing with very little activity is the main reason why there isnt a BIG Latino boxing star not named Canelo. Most Latinos need to be active to keep their timing up to par, if not then they will get easily outpointed against a fleet footed boxer which has been the case ESPECIALLY in this not so distant past.

[DreamerUSA]

its fine if all the fights are meaningful. But two fights a year when you are fighting Bs stay busy fights is a joke.

Stay busy fights should be what you cram in between the big fights to keep yourself sharp. Not the sht you put on Mexican independence day card (not to single out Canelo, its just the freshest in the mind)

This. If you are fighting legit competition, I got no problem with two fights a year. If your'e going to take meh fights than two times a year is sad. Especially when you are south of 30.

[al-Xander]

It's not just haymon.. The fact that showtime and hbo has cut the budget and amount of shows doesn't help either

It's just Haymon. Even a retired Pacquiao is fighting twice this year.

It's been 8 months since the Garcia vs Peterson, which was a close fight, yet none of them has any announcement to make for their next fight. Broner, Berto, Lara, Charlos, Quillin, Alexander, Trout, Williams, etc.

[KingHippo]

Impossible since building up fighters these days is a sin.

[Hype job]

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....

3 times a year isn't too much to ask from the top guys who get 7/8 figures per fight.

[New England]

blame PPV.


if you're not on PPV most of the managers try and get young guys on TV thrice, and older fighters on TV twice a year. if you're on PPV you really can't fight more than twice a year.


and i agree, no athlete is at his best when he's only competing twice a year. these guys are allowed to get out of shape and put on a ton of weight in between fights, too. activity means it takes less time to get in shape and sharp. it makes fighters better.

but boxing is a business. we know this by now. they fight twice a year for the same reason they do everything else: to maximize revenue.

[-PBP-]

PPV, TV dates, purses are play a factor in inactivity. Besides, if you making six figures plus per fight what's the incentive to take more punches than you need to?