Is boxing going to die?

[kaps]

LOL @ a 12 year fad....

[No-mas-tias]

Right now UFC is the "cool" thing, let's wait a couple of years if that and people will find a "cooler" thing.

I like watching UFC from time to time but you can put their greatest fight in history and it would never compare to a Castillo vs. Corrales I, a Gatti vs. Ward I, a Pacquiao vs. Morales I a Vargas vs. Trinidad.......They are not even close on the level of entertainment.

[butterfly1964]

It will die if a Muhammad Ali, a Mike Tyson, a Joe Louis, or a Jack Dempsey doesn't come on the scene.

[Southpaw16]

They are about to start another season of The Contender. The Rocky 6 movie is coming out as well. Fighters like Floyd Mayweather and Jermain Taylor are almost ready to break into the mainstream. Two major motion pictures in recent years were boxing movies. There is a lot of stuff going on in the sport. We just need the heavyweight division to reshape and hopefully better political structure in boxing when Don King and Bob Arum are dead, which isn't too far off.

Whether the UFC keeps gaining popularity or not, it doesn't matter all that much. Fans can be fans of more than one freaking sport. Also, major fights in both sports only happen every couple of months anyways, if UFC gains huge popularity it isn't that freaking hard to just make sure boxing pay per views are on a different night.

[Atwa Is Fancy]

My first fight I saw live was Roy Jones Jr vs Kelley. I had JUST gotten HBO at the time, and have NEVER watched a boxing math. I see how the two look like and naturally I think this Kelley guy is bigger so he is going to win. We'll Roy Jones put on a show and KO the guy with his hands behind his back. Ever since then, Roy Jones became my favorite fighter and I bought a DVD of all his fights. That got me into more boxing and more fighters and now I'm a huge fan. I just can't get enough of boxing and I'm downloading many clips of old fights so I can live the history of boxing. Just 1 fight got me into boxing is my point.

Anyway, in my school there is literally no people who watch boxing besides one of my teachers. All of them have this fad for UFC and it pisses me off. It seems all the boxing fans are olders guys, and theres no one to discuss boxing besides here in forums. Will the younger gen stick to UFC?

I have thought the same thing, my first live fight was Struggle For Supremacy at the Garden in November of 2004, and since then I live boxing, I watch all the fights I can, and have a folder devoted to old fights and new ones, I keep dling. Boxing won't die. I'm 17 and I know a lof ot the posters on here are young, we'll keep it going. My kids are going to box and enjoy the sport like I do, but I know what you mean, I'm the only kid at my school who watches the sport. Everyone will pretend they a fan when fight night comes out, but then they shut up, and realize they just like the game, and not boxing.

[kaps]

I'm a fan of both sports, I follow MMA more than boxing though. I think most MMA fans are boxing fans as well. Boxing aint going nowhere, and MMA is going to gain more popularity, but there is no need to get your pantys in a bunch over it. Both sports rock....

[Lucky466]

First off let me state that I love boxing much more than MMA as a sport I find it more enjoyable to watch and takes more athletic talent to be a good boxer than to be a good MMA er. But having said that the UFC is only going to grow in popularity while boxing will shrink if they both continue on their respective paths. The UFC right now puts on way more competetive fights than boxing does. You really dont see UFC champions taking tune up fights. The UFC right now puts their best fighters in with the best fighters they have and because of this the sport is growing. Boxing on the other hand does its best to padd and protect certain fighters' records to the point where the sport is suffering.

[Mike_R]

the success in UFC stems from them hyping their sport and their company moreso than any one individual fighter. boxing has always found it's success in star-fighters being there to carry the flag for the whole sport. and again if mayweather would just partake in some good fights he could easily be that guy for the mainstreamers. and i agree with what was said about taylor as well, hopefully he gets past winky because it would be better for boxing if he did, being the younger more marketable fighter.

i personally don't think MMA could ever compare to boxing. the best MMA fight i've ever seen was the finale of the first contender with forrest griffin (i think is his name) and that other guy. it was a ****ing great fight but i have never seen another fight like that in MMA and i don't expect to. i never help pay for MMA fights because i always expect (and am delivered) two dudes hugging each other with their legs and rolling around until someone taps out after fighting for like... 2 minutes max.
boxing is the only combative sport where the smaller guy can be heavily favored over the bigger guy, MMA i almost feel like you can look at each fighter and know nothing about them and know who will win (or at least be right 85% of the time).

i honestly probably don't watch enough MMA anymore to fairly say any of this but i do love boxing far far more than any UFC or Pride that i've seen.

[TexDeuce]

and i dont think that the ufc can take boxing over

God I hope boxing doesn't die. Too good of a sport, too much history. I don't think it will ever "die", but it could taper off into being less popular. We need better heavyweights, they carry boxing for the common person. We need better marketing, and to get rid of so many **** belts and titles. We need unification. We need more superstars. We need exciting fighters with honor and integrity. We also need good boxers that talk and hype up a fight can maintain a shade of respect at times (see Ali).

As for the UFC, I think both sports can live harmoniously together in the future. They are two different sports that bring great things to the table. I train and watch both sports equally. I hate it when I hear MMA fans bash boxing, and when I hear boxing fans bash MMA. Complete ignorance on both sides.

I see many uneducated and ignorant posts coming from certain posters here. The same can be true at the MMA forums I browse in regards to their take on boxing. Why not like both? They are both great combat sports. MMA is here to stay, you don't have to like it but you should respect it.

Here's to hoping for the long and prosperous life of boxing and MMA, two great combat sports that can co-exist peacefully.

[the_truth_1984]

It's going to take more than mma to kill a sport with so much history like boxing.