If Fighters Were Fighting Five or Six Times a Year...

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Ultimately it boils down to money. Guys at contender level and above are getting paid too much to fight...even if those fights are against a bunch of bums.

If fighters were fighting more regularly, for example on a platform like PBC in the US where I assume they receive or have the chance to receive more exposure than on premium subscription channels like HBO and Showtime, they would definitely be more popular. Look at how the popularity of fighters like Leonard and Tyson were built.

Didn't Tyson fight off of PPV for a chunk of his early career, fighting like 6+ times a year and knocking out guys and having fans think "wow, I could pay for this guy on HBO one day and it'd be worth it."

Now we have young guys with a couple of decent wins, not even attractive wins at times, claiming they need to get paid more to fight unification or top challengers lol

Oh yeah. Iron Mike was brought along beautifully. Hell, I was at a bar a few years ago and they were playing a long video of his early knockouts. Every fight was like "BOOM! It's a first round KO!" Over and over. Haha. Was very impressive. And that exposure got people talking like you say. Nowadays, a casual fan is really put through the ringer to keep an interest in the sport. If he could turn on his TV and see his favorite guy in there five or six times a year, believe me, he'd be a better fan, even if the guy lost here and there. Boxing is not all about staying undefeated. It's about the fighters fighting each other and often. I'm not saying it will happen, but it would be better for the sport of it did. I like watching GGG. More than twice a year would be ideal and we know he will do it. Too many politics get in the way.

[soul_survivor]

Oh yeah. Iron Mike was brought along beautifully. Hell, I was at a bar a few years ago and they were playing a long video of his early knockouts. Every fight was like "BOOM! It's a first round KO!" Over and over. Haha. Was very impressive. And that exposure got people talking like you say. Nowadays, a casual fan is really put through the ringer to keep an interest in the sport. If he could turn on his TV and see his favorite guy in there five or six times a year, believe me, he'd be a better fan, even if the guy lost here and there. Boxing is not all about staying undefeated. It's about the fighters fighting each other and often. I'm not saying it will happen, but it would be better for the sport of it did. I like watching GGG. More than twice a year would be ideal and we know he will do it. Too many politics get in the way.

I dunno if you're from the UK but over here, ITV put big financial muscle behind Amir Khan, promoted the hell outta him and he was fighting multiple times on free TV...free damn TV. The guy was one of if not the most recognisable sporting face in the country outside of a handful of footballers by 2006, barely 19 years old.

It's the last time a star was built in this fashion.

Now, AJ, who is probably the biggest name in British boxing is hidden behind a paywall and he just hasn't captured the imagination the way Khan or before that, Hatton essentially did or if we wana go further back, the ITV days of Eubank and Benn.

There was even a time when the BBC would show repeats of the big heavyweight fights of the 90s and early 00s, turning Lewis into a household name.

All that is long gone and fighters are paid millions even though they're barely known outside their own home town or state.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

I dunno if you're from the UK but over here, ITV put big financial muscle behind Amir Khan, promoted the hell outta him and he was fighting multiple times on free TV...free damn TV. The guy was one of if not the most recognisable sporting face in the country outside of a handful of footballers by 2006, barely 19 years old.

It's the last time a star was built in this fashion.

Now, AJ, who is probably the biggest name in British boxing is hidden behind a paywall and he just hasn't captured the imagination the way Khan or before that, Hatton essentially did or if we wana go further back, the ITV days of Eubank and Benn.

There was even a time when the BBC would show repeats of the big heavyweight fights of the 90s and early 00s, turning Lewis into a household name.

All that is long gone and fighters are paid millions even though they're barely known outside their own home town or state.

I live in the states, but that's very interesting about Khan, man. Building a fighter takes familiarity which can't happen with one or two fights a year.

Well, we'll see. They may be getting paid millions now, but I doubt that will last.

[A.K]

They do when they're coming up cause it's not a full 12 rounds, but 6 12 round fights a year is a lot of tear on the body.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

They do when they're coming up cause it's not a full 12 rounds, but 6 12 round fights a year is a lot of tear on the body.

Oh they wouldn't have to be twelve rounds. Ten rounders or even eight rounders would be better than twice a year. Besides most likely all those fights won't go the distance.

[P.K Dionysus]

I've said this once before, and I'll say it again - we need a boxing league.

If people want to be champs in the sport, they join the league. Fighters fight. Winners go up the log, dudes in the top 4 positions fight for titles. If the top ranked fighter has all the titles, then dudes fight for the mandatory/no 1 contender's spot, etc.

Maybe it works on a points system. KO's and UD's garner the most points, MD's and SD fewer, etc. I'm not saying 6 fights per year will be the standard or anything, but the more fights you have, the more points you get, the higher up the log you get in your respective weight class. Also, if you're in the top 10 or 20 of your weight class and decide to move up or down, points are transferable to a degree. Also, money earned will have a direct relationship with how high you are on league table.

Anyway, the incentive here for dudes to be active is that if they don't fight, they drop down the rankings, and that'll be detrimental to their bank balances. If they don't fight, they don't earn.

Its rough and likely has many flaws, but if boxing people put their heads together, the kinks could be ironed out.

[.!WAR MIKEY!.]

if today boxers fought 6 times a year, they will 1 name and 5 tunes ups. And fighters liek danny garcia will even go on like 2 years of nothing but tuneups.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

I've said this once before, and I'll say it again - we need a boxing league.

If people want to be champs in the sport, they join the league. Fighters fight. Winners go up the log, dudes in the top 4 positions fight for titles. If the top ranked fighter has all the titles, then dudes fight for the mandatory/no 1 contender's spot, etc.

Maybe it works on a points system. KO's and UD's garner the most points, MD's and SD fewer, etc. I'm not saying 6 fights per year will be the standard or anything, but the more fights you have, the more points you get, the higher up the log you get in your respective weight class. Also, if you're in the top 10 or 20 of your weight class and decide to move up or down, points are transferable to a degree. Also, money earned will have a direct relationship with how high you are on league table.

Anyway, the incentive here for dudes to be active is that if they don't fight, they drop down the rankings, and that'll be detrimental to their bank balances. If they don't fight, they don't earn.

Its rough and likely has many flaws, but if boxing people put their heads together, the kinks could be ironed out.

Yes I like the idea, sir. Tournaments are always a good thing as well. I think active fighters tend to be sharper in the ring. They don't have to fight so many times a year but a little pick up in the business department would sure help many of them gain popularity they currently lack. And popularity leads to money.

As for the league, I'd love for them all to be in one league. This whole system of multiple titles truly sucks. One world champion would mean more fights between contenders instead of everyone claiming a belt and hiding behind it as many do. It would weed out the cowards real quick.

[soul_survivor]

I live in the states, but that's very interesting about Khan, man. Building a fighter takes familiarity which can't happen with one or two fights a year.

Well, we'll see. They may be getting paid millions now, but I doubt that will last.

Yeah I think the boxing economy hit a wall with may v pac and we've seen boxing audiences reject ppv since then and on top of that we've seen hbo not managing to out on big fights at a consistent basis.

Hopefully this leads to wholesale change across the board.

[Brocklee]

What the injuries recovering time and stuff ?