How did boxing become so popular in the UK?

[Weebler I]

How did you watch their fights? On an app or TV?

Terrestrial Television.

But I will say it makes no difference whether it's on TV or an app nowadays because the wider public don't get to see it either way.

[lolasif]

Boxing isn't particularly popular in the UK. Some boxers are well known and/or popular, but not many.

The British enjoy big events. Sell a fight as a big event and it will do really well. Fail to do that and it won't.

[removed]

I think the internet has helped tbh.

Back in the day, you simply couldn't watch any boxing in the UK unless you had a sky sports subscription, and that was pretty expensive for the working man.

Now anyone can watch old fights on YouTube, you can illegally stream live fights with ease, it's got a lot more people into the sport imo.

[Thuglife Nelo]

Not exactly...it dates back to 6th century BC Olympics but the Brit's did establish what came to be known as professional boxing. From Wikipedia...
Boxing evolved from 16th- and 18th-century prizefights, largely in Great Britain, to the forerunner of modern boxing in the mid-19th century with the 1867 introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.

It's safe to say it's always been popular in the UK...it's just that there was much less of an international environment a couple of decades ago and particularly more recently.

I’d say “professional” hand striking comes from Asia. Taekwondo became “pro” at 1AD. There it’s proto history probably had primitive forms of vertical and horizontal striking. These competitions were held in front of their emperors for entertainment. Two men in striking distance, first one to land etc within the distance. I don’t even think Asians focused on hand wraps in martial arts. It’s an interesting history to discuss

[Razor Ramon]

How did you watch their fights? On an app or TV?

Boxing made a big comeback around about 2005 after it got some big fights back on ITV. It'd really fallen off the face of the earth the previous 10 years due to all going on to Sky, back when a lot less people had Sky.

It's back off terrestrial TV again now which doesn't help, but with more people having Sky, the rise of the internet it's not fallen off the earth again like it did in the 90's. Still, it's probably only about 6th or 7th place in popular sports here, after Football, Rugby Union, Rugby league, Cricket, probably darts (don't ask me why) maybe racing aswell.

[WallabeeKing]

"Go on, lad. Shoot that dart"

[Scopedog]

Sky Sports was already available in a lot of households in the UK because Brits are mad about football - even if you didn't have it in your home it was likely in your nearest pub or bar. Combine that with the fact that we had a pretty strong and competitive domestic scene already and you've got a production line of pretty decent fights churning out on most weekends. That's what I think it's down to anyway.

[Deus]

How did you watch their fights? On an app or TV?

I don't understand why you are so desperate to see DAZN fail.

The only reason I can think of is you're all so blindly patriotic that you want to see it fail because it's not American.

[NEETzsche]

Brits will watch anything really. Even darts tournaments are popular over there.

"Go on, lad. Shoot that dart"

Funnily enough the upsurge in darts' popularity can be credited to Matchroom as well

It's great fun btw. If you've ever played it I see no reason why you wouldn't enjoy watching it

[kafkod]

One thing that benifits UK boxers, and UK boxing as a whole, is the fierce pride and loyalty that many UK males feel towards their home town, city, or region, irrespective of the race of the people who live there. This is a consequence of the "football culture" which has been a major part of UK mainstream culture for over a century.

UK boxing fans travel travel to support fighters from their home towns and this gives UK boxing shows the passionate atmosphere of football matches.

Eddie Hearn understands this and taps into it deliberately, both with his matchmaking and the way he publicises fights. This has been a major factor in his success in the UK, and the consequent rise in the popularity of boxing as a mainstream sport. Eddie has admitted that he is struggling to get to grips with the absence of passionate local support for US boxers.