Serious question regarding where Boxing stands

[pacmanis1]

It has been..I dont know of anybody that has the slightest excitment for this saturday's fight..Now,can you imagine danny garcia vs pac,or thurman ,even porter?..no way hbo would have passed on that one??

Haha yeah I wasn't talking about the Pacquiao fight. I have zero excitement for that one. However the Ward/Kov, Walters/Lomo, Thurman/Garcia and even the Broner fight are all ones I'm really looking forward to. I've been pretty pessimistic lately but there's a string of months with solid fights so I'm trying not to be a Debbie downer.

[al-Xander]

You don't need rocket science to know where it stands. It's been just a random collection of fights. There's no story to follow. Winners either disappear for long stretches of time or fight nobodies. "Stars" fight their individual fights as if fellow stars don't exist. Lara is fighting Yuri Foreman for $1 mil, or close to that amount.

[KillaCamNZ]

There used to be a time where boxing was considered by fighters as a passion, and a career choice based more-so on the challenges you'd face, rather than a vehicle to make 7 figures consistently. There are exceptions to this, of course - and it's not 0/100 or 100/0 each way, but with the massive purses (culminating in the joke of a Pac-Floyd fight) on offer, more and more fighters are looking to cash out, rather than test their mettle.

The purses on offer are unsustainable, as the bottom is inevitably going to fall out of the sport when viewers drift further away - because of the frustration involved with being a boxing fan, a complete lack of desirable fights, and alternatives in the market giving better viewing (MMA etc).

The mainstream doesn't care about boxing anymore - there used to be a time where championship fights would headline 6 o'clock news. Now, it's at the back end of flagship sports reports, if at all.

A combination of greed from the fighters and promoters, and the absolute idiocy of fans who have shelled out money for a sub-standard product (again, Pac-Floyd is a prime example of this), will lead to the smoke and mirrors finally disappearing, and people realizing that this sport has very little substance.

Now, everyone needs to get back to talking about GGG-Canelo, before I start thinking that you muppets are anything more than mindless, boneheaded sheep.

[al-Xander]

As long as top fighters get overpaid for fighting nobodies, it will stay the same. Why fight a top fighter when you can make huge money fighting non-threatening opposition?

[boxinghead530]

It's been a really bad year but I feel I should stay optimistic because some really good fights are coming up.

i agree stay positive but to me getting really excited about boxing match only happens once every couple of years in this lacking era.

Ward-Kova is a good fight for this era, but to me im pumped for for Charlo-JRock. Two young undefeated lions with one being a paper champion but both trying to get to the next level. That fight has excitement all over it.

[BWC]

Meh, the "boxing is dead" talk is perennial and annoying, but always wrong. All sports live and die on the backs of stars, especially combat sports, which are 1-on-1 battles. Where would the NBA be without LeBron and Curry? The modern NFL was essentially built by Brady and Manning. The UFC is a complete niche sport outside of Conor and Ronda.

Boxing is no different. People need to relax a tad. We're in the classic lull any sport experiences in-between eras. We're just now exiting the May/Pac era, probably headed into the Joshua/Canelo/Spence era or something. Once a few stars pick up mainstream steam the entire sport will start to emerge again..

[yngwie]

I love boxing, i love being in the ring as well as study fights, watch them or just talk about boxing.
There a lot of things wrong with today boxing, fighters aren't fighting for greatness, the avoid the risks and the other good fighters, they need to fight more, there a lot of champions and fans are approving these conducts by calling other fighters not drawing names, like if they get a penny of the revenues of the fights.
I love watching amateur boxing too, they always face the best, but it's rotten to the core.
I will watch boxing till i die, but sure can be better, but it wouldn't be better until something dramatic happens.

[Hewito]

Meh, the "boxing is dead" talk is perennial and annoying, but always wrong. All sports live and die on the backs of stars, especially combat sports, which are 1-on-1 battles. Where would the NBA be without LeBron and Curry? The modern NFL was essentially built by Brady and Manning. The UFC is a complete niche sport outside of Conor and Ronda.

Boxing is no different. People need to relax a tad. We're in the classic lull any sport experiences in-between eras. We're just now exiting the May/Pac era, probably headed into the Joshua/Canelo/Spence era or something. Once a few stars pick up mainstream steam the entire sport will start to emerge again..

Is not so much the boxing is dead,since the millions that fighters are still making shows there is still some interest,but as far as to go MEH,I am not sure,for MMA to say mcgregor and rousey are carrying the UFC is a bit too much since there are other promotions(for example bellator)that have good fighters and brings excitment.The problem is that if you can honestly say you feel the same about boxing as compare to lets say,4 years ago,I dont think you are being truthful.And the problem about new stars emerging is that the same patter will continue,fighting either 4 times a year against nobodies and then fighting once a year.I am telling you,ask people if they know who Kovalev or Ward is and they have the slightest idea.
You mentioned we might be heading in the Canelo era,isnt canelo THE only "star"(in PPV numbers) boxing has now?Dont people,or most feel his shenanigans of "put the boxing gloves right now because I am afraid of no one" and then giving up the belts because "no sanctioning body will mandate me" are in a way ridiculous?

[BWC]

Is not so much the boxing is dead,since the millions that fighters are still making shows there is still some interest,but as far as to go MEH,I am not sure,for MMA to say mcgregor and rousey are carrying the UFC is a bit too much since there are other promotions(for example bellator)that have good fighters and brings excitment.The problem is that if you can honestly say you feel the same about boxing as compare to lets say,4 years ago,I dont think you are being truthful.And the problem about new stars emerging is that the same patter will continue,fighting either 4 times a year against nobodies and then fighting once a year.I am telling you,ask people if they know who Kovalev or Ward is and they have the slightest idea.
You mentioned we might be heading in the Canelo era,isnt canelo THE only "star"(in PPV numbers) boxing has now?Dont people,or most feel his shenanigans of "put the boxing gloves right now because I am afraid of no one" and then giving up the belts because "no sanctioning body will mandate me" are in a way ridiculous?

Lol I want you to go out on street and ask people if they know who Jose Aldo, Mighty Mouse, or Stipe Miocic are. I guarantee you will get nothing but blank stares...

[The Big Dunn]

I don't think boxing is dead. There is a lack of star power, particularly an english speaking American that the sport usually evolves around.

While the sport is not as big in America, it looks to be bigger than ever in England and other parts of Europe.

For better or worse, Floyd made people pay attention to the sport. The sport is missing someone with his talent and his ability to cross over into the American mainstream.

There are a list of Mexican fighters (canelo, ramirez, Valdez) that I think will eventually be big stars at home. GGG, Kov and Loma are all great but can't carry the sport. Wilder attracts attention but isn't very good. Broner is a complete waste. Ward is great in the ring but boring and bland outside of it. Thurman hasn't been as active. Danny didn't come up in Puerto Rico so he hasn't connected like Cotto or Tito.

This year has been terrible but next year looks very promising.