There has been a lot of speculation over the years as to whether boxing is or isn?t a dying sport. With the emergence of new(ish) sports and the stock of others seemingly rising more and more, you have to wonder at times. Even certain faces in the boxing world have been heard to say it is on its way out once or twice, but if this is true then the question we should be asking is WHY?
Well let?s have a think.
First off let?s look at the emergence of MMA, after spending a bit of time on some forums it seems a few people think brands like the UFC and Strikeforce could be the final nail in the coffin for boxing. They apparently give people the big fights they demand and always seem to throw the best in together, something I think we all know boxing hardly ever seems to do. Or at least two or three times a year we get to see something considered a big meaningful fight. That?s not to say a fight considered a waste of time can?t defy belief and cause major fireworks.
Recent examples of this would be Erik Morales?s gutsy and very close decision loss to power punching Marcos Maidana, a fight even the experts though Morales had no hope of winning let alone surviving more than 4-5 rounds. But in typical fashion, Morales defied the odds and gave us what I think is easily fight of the year so far. Then you have the likes of Juanma Lopez/Orlando Salido, a fight also considered to be a meaningless easy night for former WBO strap holder Lopez who?s title and undefeated record was brutally snatched away via 8th round TKO. On the other hand you have fights like Alexander/Bradley a WBO/WBC and IBF unification fight between the considered best in the 140lb division. Major fireworks were expected but sparklers are instead what we received, in what was one of the worst title fights in a long time.
Then you have the case of the best fighting the best, a rare scenario for any boxing fan. That said when the promoter?s hands are forced and have to make the fights; someone somewhere always has an excuse. The fight came too late, the loser was shot or had distractions outside the ring, ect ect. Then there?s the classic case of one side doesn?t want the fight and price themselves out of the fight or make up some sort of excuse to fool the fans into thinking the reason is legit.
A prime example of this would be Floyd Mayweather. A man who considers himself to be the best of all time up there with the likes or Ali, Robinson, Leonard and so on, yet when it comes to the crunch, Floyd seems to be the one shying away from a showdown with P4P king Manny Pacquiao with excused of drugs tests or apparently demanding $100m. The fight has already been talked up as the biggest money generating fight of all time and we all know Floyd loves his cash so what?s the problem, it?s quite clear team Pacquiao want the fight and will take your tests.
Another example of this is WBC/WBO 140lb holder Tim Bradley who was reported to have cancelled talks of a unification fight with WBA rival Amir Khan because of the money offered. While Tim might be the top dog at 140lbs Amir is clearly the money generator in the fight. I wonder if Jake LaMotta looked at his purse against Ray Robinson and though I m not getting paid enough here. Or if Ali wanted George Foreman to undertake random drugs tests because he was knocking everyone at that time out with ease, I think not. More and More boxing seems to be filling up with people with this Diva type attitude while the boys from the old days and in the UFC just got on with it and fight regardless.
That said I don?t consider MMA, a direct threat to boxing, this is because they are two different sports all together they just share similarities. Sort of like Hockey and Golf, Tennis and Badminton or Baseball and Cricket. All share something in common but are not direct threats to the other. I think if the UFC and MMA as a sport is hurting boxing it?s because of the attitude they have adopted to give the fans the fights they want and there is none of this nonsense as you would in boxing about money or rival promoters not working with each other to make the big fights.
Another problem that seems to be affecting the sport is the falling out between promotional companies. It?s no secret that Top ranks Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer of Goldenboy are by no means friends, so much so they nearly always refuse to do business together. So rather than cross promoted events we are stuck with in house events that no one really cares for or fighters leaving to chase the fights they want.
Shane Mosley for example who left Goldenboy to get a fight With Manny Pacquiao, or Juan Manuel Marquez who almost did the same to get a fight again with Paqcuiao, and all because Bob, Oscar and Richard cant man up and agree to disagree and give people the fights they want for the sake of the sport that?s made them all rich and its fans.
Showtime?s super six was a stroke of genius when it was announced. Six of the best fighters at 168lbs face off with two of the four major titles included in the tournament and the winner to face the other main man Lucien Bute once it?s all over and done with to find out who is the best of the best.
Only it wasn?t that simple and After suffering his 3rd straight brutal KO loss at the hands of Arthur Abraham, Jermaine Taylor pulled out, Followed by Andre Dirrell after an incident also with Abraham caused him problems, followed by Mikkel Kessler who withdrew with an eye injury following close his win over Carl Froch. So the super six became the not so super anymore nine causing some fans to start to unfortunately lose interest. However it?s worth noting that of all the fighters replaced only one remains, Glen Johnson who in my book was quite worth of a place from the start.
This also begs the question, will the super six only be a one off event or will there be various through the divisions. While the concept of the tournament was a very good one, I think changes need to be considered next time out to avoid a decline in interest. Maybe 147lbs would be a great place to start looking, plenty of big names to chose from with the eventual winner facing the WBO champion and current P4P king Manny Pacquiao or maybe 160lbs with the winner facing Sergio Martinez. Both would I think provide a well needed boost to the sport.
Another factor could be the increasing amount of new alphabet titles going about, like the WBC silver belts, that?s like entering a competition to win a Ferrari and instead being told congratulations we gave the Ferrari to some other guy who didn?t deserve it because he brings in a bit more money, but you can have a 1985 Ford Granada instead but we painted the wheels silver so it makes you just as special. In the old days holding a world title made you the man, it made you special, now you?re not classed as special unless you hold 3-4 of the main titles. But even then you could hold the WBC silver title, and the WBO, WBA and IBF interim titles all at once and still you wouldn?t be considered a real champion, so what is the point?
In short once again its Money, money, money extra titles so greedy sanctioning bodies can take more money from a fighter for one of their shiny trinkets. This is where Floyd Mayweather for once gets it right by refusing to be sucked in and fall into that category by refusing to pay sanctioning fees for a title he doesn?t want or need. He was offered the WBC Diamond belt for his fight with Shane Mosley last year and sensibly declined, but the emergence of more and more paper titles can?t be good for the sport and seems to nothing but irritate the fans a little bit more.
For the record, what is the WBC diamond belt even about? How is it won or lost? Does anyone care about in the slightest? And when did Manny Pacquiao ever lose it when he won it against Cotto? I don?t know about you but I?m confused.
And finally I feel another reason for the decline in boxings popularity is the lack of likeable characters in comparison to the past generations. Fighters like Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Ray Robinson, Tommy Hearns, Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis to name but a few, all considered legends of the ring by their fans they took the fights people wanted, provided the fireworks we longed for and all had character which is in my opinion sorely lacking in today?s current crop.
There are a few fighters out there Like Pacquiao, Martinez who have that same excitement to them and more recently people like Gamboa or Donaire who have the skills and provide the excitement to reach the top of the game. But then you look at the way the heavyweight division, once the most glamorous division in the game has turned into a drab and depressing place ruled by the none to exciting Klitschko brothers, full of overweight has-beens or almost were?s with the only excitement coming from blown up cruiserweights in Haye and Adamek, a far cry from the excitement provided by Ali or Tyson an co. Or fighters like Mayweather who have all the skills in the world but chose to not put them to use and fight once every blue moon, his fans prey for his return and time and time again are let down with excuses.
I don?t think the game has, or will ever die outright. I think the sad fact is that once upon a time fighters laced up to show that they were the best. It was never about the money it was about the pride and the glory of being champion of the world, Nowadays everything is about the money.
But………
Despite the negative side of things, one every so often boxing does get it right and we as fans are provided with something magical. Every so often it?s not about the money or the fame and celebrity lifestyle and we get to see just how big boxing really can be. Like when Ali met Frazier for the 3rd time, When Haggler and Hearns tried to kill each other for those epic nine minutes. Or when the Late Arturo Gatti met Micky Ward in there legendary battles, or Morales and Barrera went to war all three times, Tyson/Lewis, Pacquiao/Cotto, the list goes on and on…
In these instances Boxing is far from dead and people really stand up and take notice, none fans turn into new fans, old fans long since gone start to show and interest once again.
I don?t consider boxing to be dead, but I don?t consider it to be alive like it used to be. It?s more just plodding along at the side of the road gradually getting from place to place like an old Ford Transit van, occasionally it might hit a nice patch of downhill road and gather momentum but eventually it?s going to slow down again and ultimately head back up another hill. And much like the Transit van I doubt very much it will come to a full stop, but rather keep plodding on and plodding on, because as long as whoever?s in the driving seat gets where they want to go what does it matter what the little people on the outside think.
