Comments Thread For: Mike Tyson: Promoters Not Allowing The Best To Fight The Best

[Oldskoolg]

Not just promoters, fighters are just as bad. Too much love for money, making all parties risk averse.

Look at back in the day when Leonard fought Hearns (first time) in the WW unification for the undisputed. Both were undefeated with Leonard aged 25 and Hearns just 22!

Compare that almost like for like with Spence and Crawford or Mayweather and Pacquiao. Too many parties trying to squeeze too much out while waiting on the opponent to show weakness/deterioration.

It's what puts folk off, takes too much away from the sporting element.

Exactly what I have been saying, the fighters of today are far too pampered and will take the path of least resistance to big money. If given the choice of the same money for both high, low, and moderate risk what do we expect them to take?
The problem is boxers are overpaid right now....period. And they are overpaid because of the network wars. It’s unsustainable...and WILL lead to a decrease in popularity of the sport in the USA.
I do t know what the media is telling you lot back in Britain but Canelo was FAR more popular when he was on hbo and showtime than he is now, when he was more accessible, in harder fights, and made less. He now gets 33m a pop and barely anyone here talks about his fights.

[Marchegiano]

Why don't sanctioning bodies handle promotion?

[ShoulderRoll]

How does that serve their business interests? While that seems like a good plan from the business point of view there’s no investment there

Let's say ESPN allocates a certain amount of money to spend on boxing each year.

What will bring them better tv ratings: using that money to buy good fights from as money promoters as possible? Or using that money to let Arum put on in-house mismatches?

[Ant1979]

Exactly what I have been saying, the fighters of today are far too pampered and will take the path of least resistance to big money. If given the choice of the same money for both high, low, and moderate risk what do we expect them to take?
The problem is boxers are overpaid right now....period. And they are overpaid because of the network wars. It’s unsustainable...and WILL lead to a decrease in popularity of the sport in the USA.
I do t know what the media is telling you lot back in Britain but Canelo was FAR more popular when he was on hbo and showtime than he is now, when he was more accessible, in harder fights, and made less. He now gets 33m a pop and barely anyone here talks about his fights.

Yeah, ultimately most fans see through the phoney talk and 'protection' of fighters who would arguably benefit from much sterner competition earlier on. We accept it's a business 1st, sport 2nd like no other. But when the sporting element is severely compromised by one-sided match ups, ridiculous catch weights/making opponents really boil down and fu***d up scoring it's all bound to affect global demand. Where's the Warrior theme in any of that?

All this protection of the '0' too as if every prospect will inevitably hit the heights of Mayweather in terms of ability and earning power. Alphabet titles that are often vacant when fought for and when won automatic assumptions of this A-Side boll**ks that no fan wants to hear.

Hopefully if some good is to come from these crazy times in boxing it's that fighters will pressure promoters to be more willing to take a risk and make a name, but I'm not holding my breath. Way too many diva's who now betray their roots.

To answer your question though, Canelo has never had any UK exposure as such. Perhaps a little on Sky when he's faught a UK fighter and if you want to watch his fights they're there available on PPV, but he's largely an unknown to the masses.

Boxing in the UK will always be behind football, rugby, cricket, F1 and horse racing. All the above (boxing aside) consistently and regularly feature the best vs the best. We might get one of those genuine match ups every 5 years, as there's always an angle. You get the feeling the writing is on the wall for boxing as the average age of the fan is probably getting older and older.

Such a shame because when it gets it right, nothing compares!

[Ed Moto]

Mike is 100% correct. Boxing in America, has mirrored the laziness and entitlement culture of today’s inner city people, to where their fighters are unable to compete with the best fighters from Eastern Europe and Asia.

Entitlement culture and ***** culture destroyed American boxing by making these people weaker.