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The most popular notion amongst boxing pundits and fans alike is that all the big talented American athletes are choosing the pigskin over the cowhide .
I disagree, When Ali, Frazier and Foreman were around, so were the Pittsburgh Steel Curtain, O.J Simpson, The Purple People Eater, etc..
Football was popular and so was boxing.
The reason for boxing's HW division's demise, well there's alot of blame to go around. Lets start with Mr. Mike Tyson, he did alot for boxing during his rise to the top but, he also did alot to damage the image of the sport.
Mr Tyson was the face of boxing from the late 80's till the late 90's . Also, the 90's was also a time when pro fighters were vocal about the shadiness of the business side of boxing, often times going out to the media to air out their dirty laundry.
Now, for any aspiring athlete, hearing and seeing Mike Tyson biting an ear off, Tyson raping someone, or a promoter is in court accused of fixing fights, tax evasion, etc.... It's no wonder no one wants to sign up to be a pro boxer. Boxing unlike other sports doesn't seem to show any effort to clean itself up.
For instance, Chris Arreola tonight cursed several times in his post-fight interview. What do you think the N*F, M*B, or the N*A will do? It's obvious, the player(s) would get fined!!!
Chris Arreola's only punishment will probably be, he gets to only eat a taco salad instead of his usual carnitas burrito. Boxing needs to clean itself up period, it thrives too much off of the Floyd Mayweather Jr types, and yes, any publicity is good publicity, but negative publicity only lasts, for guess what, 15 minutes, Tyson's lucky with the chances he got.
The bad boy image of the Tyson's, Mayweather's, Fernando Vargas only appeal to a small demographic but it doesn't have a lasting impression.
What does boxing need to do, attract more fans. Well not with the likes of Chris Arreola ya ain't.
Chris Arreola is a huge red flag to boxing. The only reason I knew it was a pro boxing match and not a Toughman competition was because Sean O'Grady wasn't trying to interview Arreola in-between rounds.
I disagree, When Ali, Frazier and Foreman were around, so were the Pittsburgh Steel Curtain, O.J Simpson, The Purple People Eater, etc..
Football was popular and so was boxing.
The reason for boxing's HW division's demise, well there's alot of blame to go around. Lets start with Mr. Mike Tyson, he did alot for boxing during his rise to the top but, he also did alot to damage the image of the sport.
Mr Tyson was the face of boxing from the late 80's till the late 90's . Also, the 90's was also a time when pro fighters were vocal about the shadiness of the business side of boxing, often times going out to the media to air out their dirty laundry.
Now, for any aspiring athlete, hearing and seeing Mike Tyson biting an ear off, Tyson raping someone, or a promoter is in court accused of fixing fights, tax evasion, etc.... It's no wonder no one wants to sign up to be a pro boxer. Boxing unlike other sports doesn't seem to show any effort to clean itself up.
For instance, Chris Arreola tonight cursed several times in his post-fight interview. What do you think the N*F, M*B, or the N*A will do? It's obvious, the player(s) would get fined!!!
Chris Arreola's only punishment will probably be, he gets to only eat a taco salad instead of his usual carnitas burrito. Boxing needs to clean itself up period, it thrives too much off of the Floyd Mayweather Jr types, and yes, any publicity is good publicity, but negative publicity only lasts, for guess what, 15 minutes, Tyson's lucky with the chances he got.
The bad boy image of the Tyson's, Mayweather's, Fernando Vargas only appeal to a small demographic but it doesn't have a lasting impression.
What does boxing need to do, attract more fans. Well not with the likes of Chris Arreola ya ain't.
Chris Arreola is a huge red flag to boxing. The only reason I knew it was a pro boxing match and not a Toughman competition was because Sean O'Grady wasn't trying to interview Arreola in-between rounds.