Comments Thread For: How Much Might Forgettable Thurman-Garcia Fight Damage Future Viewership?

[JASON SHAW]

boxingscene you scumbags love bashing anything postive for pbc and haymon..... I was just waiting for this article to bash pbc......

[SteveM]

Maybe I'm looking at this in a too simplistic way but going from zero exposure to 5 million views is a little risky. There is a whole generation of under 35 casuals who have no memory of SRL and Hagler, much less Ali. They could use some education.

Is it not possible for CBS to buy highlights packages of the best fights each year - that way those new to the sport can understand that boxing can be great but there can be duds too - meaning they would be more forgiving.

[JASON SHAW]

this is terrible writing from this platform (which is supposed to be helping to build the sport). It confirms for me that the contributors for this site participate in the comment threads (and may represent some of the worst of the bunch in terms of analysis).

This piece has me questioning the integrity of this site. This type of "writing" is why boxing has been challenged of late. Perpetuating unsubstantiated claims of a "dying" sport, when recent data shows boxing is actually out performing ufc in the saturday prime time slot on network tv since the launch of pbc and sites like this are actually experiencing consistent growth on social media platforms.

Where is the evidence for this dying sport? It seems that since the premium channels have lost their monopoly, the sport is starting to experience growth (although gradual). Where's the data for these "dying" assertions?

Yes, this isn't the 1980s, fights aren't pulling in 20 million eyes (although may - pac likely pulled in close to that many eyes). But boxing is actually right in the middle of the pack in terms of viewership for sports content. All of television viwership in down in comparison to 20 years ago. (go check out data on the leadinh shows every year). Just provide some objective data when making these silly claims.

This fight was decent, it didn't need to be some unbelievable affair. It just had to be competitive, which it achieved. The viewership will keep rising with quality matchups. All that other stuff about "slugging" or "boxing" is for internet trolls, like this author.

I'm willing to bet anything when mikey garcia fights in prime time on saturday night on network tv, the ratings will be even higher.

this whole article was a hit piece on pbc and haymon....

Everytime something positive happens for pbc these boxingscene scumbags start bashing it the next day...

Meanwhile top prank and golden girl are putting on ppv cards filled with mismatches and that is supposed to be great for boxing.... I wonder if keith idec will write a article bashing those ppv cards.... I doubt it

[SteveM]

Thurman isn't gonna step outside of himself against a dangerous counter puncher in Danny Garcia. I know we want to be entertained but why do we have a tendency to forget that some of these fighters are limited in certain areas? Neither of these two are comfortable being the aggressor or fighting on the inside, Porter made it competitive enough against Thurman that he forced Thurman to step outside of himself in order to win, Garcia didn't.

Good point. Who you got - Porter vs garcia?

[fightfanjoe]

I don't blame Kieth for fighting a smart defensive fight once he was ahead on the cards, but theres some of hypocrisy going on. I mean it seems like there are a lot of people who would usually be complaining about how he fought (doing just enough to take the middle rounds then running in the last few) but are okay with it here because it was being done to Danny Garcia . It's Garcia's fault for not pushing the fight earlier and not cutting of the ring, but Kieth took the action out of the fight (which was smart, but it is what it is). On a somewhat related note, I remember folks saying that garcia wouldnt fight Thurman, then saying he would get beaten up or even stopped. We owe garcia more credit than he recieves. But if there's a rematch, he'll need to be much more dynamic (something I would love to see, but that I don't know if he has in him).

[SteveM]

Was the fight that bad? Haven't seen it to judge. Wanted to Youtube it later.

I'd give it a 5 or 6/10. For comparison I'd give Porter/Thurman a 7/10

[fightfanjoe]

boxingscene you scumbags love bashing anything postive for pbc and haymon..... I was just waiting for this article to bash pbc......

I love what pbc is doing for boxing, but call a spade a spade. This wasn't a great fight to rep boxing to the mainstream audience. Wasn't the best, wasn't the worse. Im just curious , are you a Thurman fan? It seems like the Thurman fans are being most defensive about this topic (all due respect, I'm not being flip, I'm really curious).

[SteveM]

This is terrible writing from this platform (which is supposed to be helping to build the sport). It confirms for me that the contributors for this site participate in the comment threads (and may represent some of the worst of the bunch in terms of analysis).

This piece has me questioning the integrity of this site. This type of "writing" is why boxing has been challenged of late. Perpetuating unsubstantiated claims of a "dying" sport, when recent data shows boxing is actually out performing UFC in the Saturday prime time slot on Network TV since the launch of PBC and sites like this are actually experiencing consistent growth on social media platforms.

Where is the evidence for this dying sport? It seems that since the premium channels have lost their monopoly, the sport is starting to experience growth (although gradual). Where's the data for these "dying" assertions?

Yes, this isn't the 1980s, fights aren't pulling in 20 million eyes (although may - pac likely pulled in close to that many eyes). But boxing is actually right in the middle of the pack in terms of viewership for sports content. All of television viwership in down in comparison to 20 years ago. (Go check out data on the leadinh shows every year). Just provide some objective data when making these silly claims.

This fight was decent, it didn't need to be some unbelievable affair. It just had to be competitive, which it achieved. The viewership will keep rising with quality matchups. All that other stuff about "slugging" or "boxing" is for Internet trolls, like this author.

I'm willing to bet anything when Mikey Garcia fights in prime time on Saturday night on network TV, the ratings will be even higher.

That right there. Very important point. One fight's ratings have to be seen in the context of the overall trend - which is down.

There are other trends too. How about that in this politically correct world people are just less tuned into aggression?

Also, sports and the way the are played or participated in change over the years. If I look at soccer it has changed beyond recognition since the sixties and seventies. Now athleticism is all important alongside ball skills. Soccer in the sixties was played at a pedestrian pace compared to this decade. Could boxing not be the same? Or subject to similar changes that make for more athleticism and more use of the ring?

[SteveM]

Demetrius Andrade's style is the perfect embodiment of what you speak of. He has the perfect blend between the sweet science and brawling, or between offense and defense. He boxes circles around you while still maintaining a high punch output and trying to knock you out at the same time.

If only he had a better promoter.

Not sure about the perfect embodiment - but he is entertaining. using a scale of skill vs promotional capabilities he is way off at one end of the scale with Rigo - the two worst promoted fighters by a mile.

looking forward to his fight

[GMAN SUPREME]

boxingscene you scumbags love bashing anything postive for pbc and haymon..... I was just waiting for this article to bash pbc......

so what??? why do you have a stick up your ass when pbc gets criticized? you have no stake in pbc you dip****.